Domestics and Divisions
by I-Confuse-Everyone
Summary: Sequel to Memories and the Master formerly Sweet Dreams. Rose and the Doctor have overcome many problems in their relationship but when one of Rose’s college friends decides to get married, is this the one thing that can tear the couple apart? COMPLETE!
1. Hearing the News

**Domestics and Divisions**

_**Hey there. Remember me? Sorry it's taken so long but I'm back with the fifth and final part to the A-Levels universe. New readers may want to read the rest of the series first before attempting this one. The links and a list of them in order can be found on my author's page. No promises on how often updates will be as I'm starting university in a week but I'll try my best. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this fic and your thoughts would be appreciated.**_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me, especially the last few lines of the first section below, which is taken directly from Sophie Kinsella's book 'Shopaholic Abroad'. Well worth a read!**_

_**

* * *

**_**Part one: Hearing the News**

The door of the TARDIS burst open and Rose Tyler ran in, her face furious and upset. Close behind her was the Doctor, a look of confusion and determination on his face and then came Jack Harkness, one eyebrow raised and rather concerned looking.

"Rose, just hear me out," the Doctor pleaded, chasing his angel across the room,

"No!" Rose screamed, making for the corridor that led out of the console room and to the interior rooms of the time ship, "You used her, Doctor!"

"I didn't have any other choice!"

The Doctor disappeared out of the room, leaving Jack alone. He let out a sigh, collapsing onto the captain's seat and resting his feet on the console. It looked like he was in for a long night as his two best friends sorted out their latest argument. They'd now been dating for almost five years and were still as deep in love now as they were the day they told one another they loved each other. But over the past few weeks, they'd started having arguments over petty little things and it was worrying Jack. He didn't like to see his best friends fighting.

Meanwhile, Rose had made it to the bedroom that she shared with the Doctor and had barricaded herself in, throwing herself face first onto the large double bed. The Doctor hammered on the door, calling out for her to let him in but she didn't listen.

"I'm staying out here all night if I have to," the Doctor shouted, resting his forehead on the wooden door, "Rose, my love, please just listen,"

"Why should I?" Rose shouted back, "I can't believe you made her do that. You knew she was going to die! She was only seven years old, for God's sake!"

The Doctor sighed. They'd landed a planet today that contained many different tribes, such as those found on Earth deep in rainforests and in deserts. The three of them had been welcomed into a tribe that they'd come across and had been treated to a wonderful day; trying out the tribe's traditions and dancing around a large fire. Rose had become attached to the daughter of the chief tribesman- a little girl of seven years old called Kateri- but misfortune had occurred when a rival tribe invaded and a fight broke out. The Doctor, being the person he was, had immediately attempted to help but the only solution was for Kateri to go into a fatal situation which resulted in the death of the little girl. Rose had been heartbroken and had stormed off as soon as she could, leading to the situation they were in now.

"Rose, there wasn't any other option," he attempted to explain, "If there had been, I would have taken it! You know me; I don't like sending people to their deaths, especially not children!"

Rose didn't reply.

"I know you liked her and were attached to her and I'm sorry, I'm so sorry but it had to happen," the Doctor continued, using a soft tone, "I wish more than anything that there had been another way, especially as it's hurt you so much, but sometimes a sacrifice has to be made even through our hearts are screaming for us not too. I've learnt that," he finished in a bitter voice.

There was still no reply.

"Please open the door," the Doctor pleaded, "I don't want us to fight anymore."

There was silence for a few moments before the door opened slightly, revealing a tearstained face. Rose looked at her lover, her bottom lip trembling.

"I'm really sorry, Rose," he told her honestly, "If Kateri hadn't gone, there would have been much more bloodshed with the two tribes constantly at war. It was the only way I could see,"

"I miss her," Rose whispered, tears building in her eyes as she thought about the cheeky little seven year old that she'd only met today and had fallen in love with,

"I know you do," the Doctor replied quietly, "And we can grieve for her."

Rose nodded wordlessly before falling into his arms, pressing her face against his shirt and letting her tears fall. She felt the Doctor's familiar arms wrap around her tightly as she wept for the lost little tribal girl.

After a little while, Rose looked up, wiping away her tear tracks.

"I'm sorry, Rose," the Doctor said again, gently kissing one of her stray tears away,

"I'm sorry too," she whispered back.

The Doctor stared at her for a moment. "Rose Tyler," he finally said, "You're the most generous-spirited… giving… loving… I don't deserve…"

He broke off and seized Rose in his arms before kissing her fiercely. She closed her eyes, letting her body gradually unwind, the pleasure gradually begin. She could feel him hard and determined, gripping her hips and wanting her right now, right that moment, to say sorry, to say he loved her, to say he'd do anything for her…

God, Rose loved make-up sex.

* * *

Rose slowly woke up the next morning, keeping her eyes closed and stretching each muscle one by one. She felt completely satisfied and let a wide grin appear on her face as she gave a pleased wriggle in bed. Last night had been… amazing. Suddenly, she heard a chuckle from her left and opened her eyes to see the Doctor sitting up in bed with his glasses on and a difficult looking book in his hands.

"Morning," he said,

"Hey, you," she responded softly, rolling over to be closer to him.

The Doctor put his book down and gathered her up in his arms, kissing the top of her head. "How are you this morning?" he questioned,

"I'm good," she breathed, snuggling into him, "Mmm, this is nice. Let's stay in here all day,"

"All day?" the Doctor repeated.

Rose nodded. "Let's hide away where no-one can find us. Just you and me. I don't wanna get up." She paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. "Come to think of it, I do have a pain in my stomach…"

"Your stomach?" the Doctor asked, "Let's have a look then." He winked at her before disappearing under the duvet, coming to a rest between her legs. "Well," he said, his voice muffled, "It _looks_ alright…" He placed his hands on Rose's stomach and massaged gently, making her squeak, "…Feels alright…" He put his ear where his hands had been, "Sounds alright…"

Rose burst out laughing as her stomach suddenly rumbled, protesting at the fact she hadn't eaten anything for hours.

"OK," the Doctor quickly amended, "It _sounds_ like you need breakfast…" He placed his nose to her stomach, inhaling deeply. "Smells alright. Actually, smells rather nice down here." He grinned as he heard Rose snigger before pressing his lips to her stomach and licking it. "And it tastes alright. Well Rose, if I didn't know any better, I'd swear you were telling a…" He blew a raspberry on her stomach, making her shriek with laughter. He smirked before doing it again and then placing a gentle kiss on her skin before shimmying back up her body and doing the same to her lips. "You have a clean bill of health, Miss. Tyler," he noted, "No sick note today."

Rose groaned. "Please?" she pleaded, "Please Doctor. I don't want to get up today,"

"Is someone feeling a little bit lazy?" the Doctor teased, pecking her on the lips again,

"No, someone just wants to lie in bed with you all day," Rose said, with a straight face,

"Just lying?" the Doctor asked, beginning to press kisses all over her face,

"Well…" Rose pondered, "Kissing and talking sound good too. And cuddling and hugging and loving and ruffling…"

"Ruffling?"

"Your hair," Rose nodded, "And making lots of love all day," she finished, looking expectantly at him.

The Doctor gazed down at her before pressing a tiny kiss to the corner of her mouth. "Alright, you win," he mock-sighed, "But you're explaining to Jack what we're doing when he comes searching for us later."

Rose just had time to grin before his lips descended powerfully on hers.

* * *

The couple were interrupted about ten minutes later by Rose's mobile ringing shrilly from her jeans which were flung on the bedroom carpet at the end of the bed. They looked at one another in confusion for a moment. Nobody ever rang Rose's mobile while they were in the TARDIS unless they were on Earth which they definitely weren't now- they were currently floating in the vortex. They normally rang the main TARDIS 'phone.

Rose hopped out of bed, shivering as the cold air met her naked body before snatching up the vibrating device and leaping back into the warmth of the Doctor's arms and studying the lit up screen.

"It's Kirsty!" she said in surprise before pressing answer, "Hey, what's up?"

"Hi Rose!" came Kirsty's excited voice, "Oh my God, you've got to come back home immediately! I've got the most exciting news!"

"What?" Rose questioned, smiling as the Doctor pressed butterfly kisses up her arm,

"You know Scott?" Kirsty gabbled excitedly, "My boyfriend?"

"Yeah…?" Rose said, shivering as the Doctor traced one finger across her shoulders,

"He's asked me to marry him!"

Rose gasped and shot up in bed. "And?"

"I said yes! We're getting married!" Kirsty squealed.

Rose screamed out loud, making the Doctor look at her in panic and Jack burst through the door.

"What's wrong?" he gasped, staring around wildly,

"KIRSTY'S GETTING MARRIED!" Rose shouted, leaping out of bed and dancing around with joy. It was only when Jack pointedly turned his back on her that she realised she was stark naked. "Oh my God," she muttered, grabbing her dressing gown and tugging it on, "Sorry, Jack!"

"Doesn't bother me, honey," Jack said, his smirk evident in his voice even over the Doctor's uproarious laughter.

"Rose?" Kirsty said,

"Yeah, sorry. I got excited and Jack got an eyeful," she explained, blushing slightly, "Doctor, stop laughing! Oh, don't you start, Kirsty!"

"Sorry, can't help it," Kirsty giggled, "Bet he loved that!"

"I'm sure he did," Rose smirked, sitting back down on the bed and snuggling up to the Doctor, "Anyway, I am _so_ happy for you,"

"Thanks," Kirsty said, "Oh, he was so romantic, Rose! I never thought I'd be first down the aisle out of me, you and Lauren. Always thought it would be you."

Rose grunted. "Have you told Lauren yet?"

"Yeah, she's so excited," Kirsty replied, "I was wondering if… well, I asked Lauren if she'd be my maid of honour but I want you to be one too so I thought I'd have two… if you want to, that is."

Rose beamed. "I'd love to. Count me in. Oh God, I'm so excited now! This is going to be so fun. Wait for me to get back and then we can go shopping." The Doctor let out a loud groan and Rose elbowed him.

"Sure. There's apparently a really nice bridal shop somewhere just outside of London that I thought we could visit," Kirsty said, "When are you coming back?"

"A.S.A.P," Rose said determinedly, "That's alright, isn't it Doctor?" she asked her lover.

He looked at her, one eyebrow raised. "Do I even get a choice in the matter?"

"Nope," Rose said promptly, making Kirsty laugh, "Right, we'll be there your tomorrow morning. What's the date?"

"Erm… tomorrow will be Thursday 16th May 2013," Kirsty told her, "Seriously can you believe how fast time's flown? It doesn't seem that long since it was 2007 and we were starting college,"

"I know," Rose muttered, "It's scary. We'll be old and grey before we know it." Behind her, the Doctor wriggled uncomfortably. She squeezed his hand slightly. Neither of them liked discussing the far future when they would be separated for eternity.

"Yeah," Kirsty said, "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow. We'll come down to the Powell Estate to meet you. I've got another surprise for you as well,"

"Another one?" Rose squealed, "Tell me, tell me!"

"No," Kirsty teased, "Trust me, seeing this one will be better." She laughed. "I better go. Scott's coming round in a minute and we're going to start preparations,"

"Are you getting married soon then?" Rose asked curiously,

"Yeah. We thought July or August. You'll see why when you come back," Kirsty said mysteriously,

"Alright," Rose conceded, "See you soon. Give my love to the others, OK?"

"Sure. Bye Rose. Say hi to the Doctor and sexy Jack for me,"

"Oi, watch it!" Rose laughed, "You're an engaged woman now!"

Kirsty laughed before hanging up.

"I can't believe it," Rose said, after putting her mobile down, "Kirsty's getting married!"

"Good for her," the Doctor nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead, "How old is she now?"

"Twenty two," Rose replied promptly, "God, I've known her six years now!"

"Is Scott the one she met at uni?" Jack asked.

Rose nodded. "It's so cute!" she breathed.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at Jack. It looked like Rose was off in her own cute, lovey-dovey, sweetness Rose world and she wouldn't be back for ages.

* * *

A couple of hours later, when the Doctor had finally managed to pull Rose back to her normal self (for now at least) and they had half- regretfully given up their plans of spending the day in bed, the Doctor and Rose- and Jack, of course,- were clustered around the console, getting ready to return to London.

"You sure you've got the right date inputted- Thursday May 16th 2013?" Rose asked nervously,

"Oh ye of little faith," the Doctor grinned, "Yes I'm sure, princess."

Rose smiled. "Shall we go then?"

"We shall," the Doctor smiled back before taking off the brake.

As soon as they landed, Rose shot to the door and opened it, breathing in the morning air. Nobody was about. "What's the time?" she called over her shoulder,

"Just before nine in the morning on the 16th of May 2013," the Doctor answered, coming to stand behind her, "See I did get it right,"

"Good boy," Rose said, reaching up and kissing him, "They're not here yet. I'm going to go up and see Mum and tell her we're back. Wanna come?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Tell her I'll see her later but I've got things to do first,"

"OK," Rose accepted, "Jack, you wanna come see my Mum with me?"

"No can do, honey," the ex-Time Agent said, appearing in the doorway, "I'm going to go and check on Torchwood's activity. May as well do it now." Ever since their last run-in with Torchwood, the TARDIS trio had taken to checking up on them every time they visited Earth but had so far found nothing odd going on. It wasn't that they didn't trust them but they wanted to be on the ball just in case.

"Fine," Rose smiled, "Give me a ring if Kirsty and the others arrive before I get back." She waited until the Doctor nodded before running lightly over the familiar tarmac that made up the forecourt of the Powell Estate and through the door to the steps which would lead to her childhood home.

* * *

Jackie was ecstatic to see her daughter again. It had been nearly a month since they last visited and she had missed them. She was also happy to hear of Kirsty's news and had got all excited, thinking of maybe helping to plan the Hen Night. Rose hadn't said anything but hoped she wouldn't; much as she loved her Mum, she didn't particularly want her to come along.

After chatting for nearly an hour over cups of tea, Rose excused herself, saying she would be back later with the Doctor and Jack but now Kirsty was meant to be arriving. She slipped out of the flat and was just about to walk across the forecourt when she overheard her name.

"… So this Rose is your friend that goes travelling all over the place with her boyfriend?" questioned a male voice,

"Yeah," replied a familiar voice, "And with their friend Jack. They've just got back,"

"Good timing," the male voice said, "What's the boyfriend's name?"

"The Doctor," replied another familiar voice, "Everyone just calls him Doctor,"

"Why?" asked the male voice curiously, "Is it some sort of nickname or something?"

"I don't know," replied the first voice, "I'm not even sure he has any other name. Rose has never said anything. Oh, I can't wait to see her again!"

"I'm looking forward to meeting this mysterious person… couple… trio, did you say?" said the man,

"Yeah, Rose, the Doctor and Jack. The TARDIS trio," said the second voice,

"TARDIS?" enquired the man,

"Their nickname for their vehicle that they use to get around in," the first voice said hastily,

"Oh right. So, how long has… the Doctor… and Rose been dating for?" asked the male voice,

"Well, they got together just after we finished our AS Levels," mused the second voice, "So it's got to be five years now,"

"And they've not got married yet?"

"Nope," replied the first voice, "I'm not sure the Doctor believes in marriage though. I know Rose wants them to get married though but she doesn't think he'll ever ask,"

"Poor girl," the man commented, "Ah well, maybe our wedding might encourage him to propose to her,"

"Yeah, maybe."

The voices passed on and Rose looked out from behind a pillar to see the back's of Kirsty, Lauren and a tall man who Rose had never met but seen in various pictures that Kirsty had sent her. She let out a quiet sigh. She did want to get married but they were right. They had never even talked about the possibility in all their years of dating and Rose didn't have the nerve to ask him whether he'd consider it or not. She didn't have a clue what to do.

Taking in a deep breath, she started walking after her friends across the forecourt, looking forward to greeting them and meeting the famous Scott. She waved as the Doctor looked up from talking to them and smiled before her friends turned around.

Rose's mouth dropped open, her eyes glued to Kirsty's stomach.

"You… you're pregnant?" she gasped out.

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_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received**_


	2. Reunited

**Domestics and Divisions**

_**Thanks for the reviews! Here's the next part.**_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me**_

_**

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**_**Part two: Reunited**

"Yeah!" Kirsty beamed with a hopeful look on her face, "A couple of months gone now."

Rose finally managed to pull herself out of her shock and squealed. "Congratulations Kirsty! Oh God, it's all happening to you!"

"I know," Kirsty laughed, accepting a hug, "I'm so excited!" She looked over to her left where a tall, dark man with dark brown hair had been watching them with amusement in his eyes. "Oh, this is Scott, my fiancé," Kirsty said proudly, "I can't believe you two haven't met before!"

"Heard a lot about him though," Rose said, smiling at him,

"All good I hope," Scott joked back, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Rose,"

"Likewise," Rose said, liking the look of him, "This is the Doctor," she continued, grabbing her lover by the hand, "The bane and love of my life and that tall, handsome stranger is Jack,"

"You missed out sexy!" Jack called, walking over and shaking Scott's hand.

Everyone laughed.

"Oh, Jack," Lauren said, "Matt told me to tell you- and you two, of course- that he's visiting his grandma today but he's back tomorrow and can't wait to see you,"

"That's cool," Jack nodded, "How's he doing?"

"He's good," Lauren nodded, "Getting a bit stressed by attempting to become a barrister,"

"Did he get into one of the Inns?" asked Rose,

"Yup, eventually," Kirsty confirmed, "Right then, do you want to go shopping? I think Bambino are having a one day sale today and I need some more maternity clothes,"

"Sweetheart," Scott groaned, a look of panic in his eyes, "You already have a wardrobe full of maternity clothes, ones suitable for every trimester!"

"A girl always needs more," Kirsty said, linking arms with Rose and Lauren, "Will you gents be joining us?"

"No, thanks," the Doctor said, a look of horror on his face, "I know what Rose is like when faced with clothes,"

"Oi!" Rose said, "Right, for that you can give me your credit card,"

"Oh, but…" protested the Doctor.

Rose frowned at him and he sighed and handed it over; earning a beaming smile and kiss from her before the girls walked away.

Jack smirked and made a whip cracking noise with his mouth.

"Wrapped around her finger?" Scott asked knowingly.

The Doctor groaned.

* * *

After a hard morning shopping, the three friends collapsed in a café for lunch.

"So, what's going on with you and the Doctor?" Kirsty asked Rose after taking the first bite of her sandwich, "Has he mentioned marriage at all?"

Rose let out a sigh. "No, I don't think he ever will," she said, "We'll probably just be lovers forever, never husband and wife. I mean, I don't even know if his people did that sort of thing!"

"At least you've got a boyfriend!" Lauren said,

"No luck yet then?" Rose asked sympathetically,

"Nope. Ever since Chris and me split up at the end of second year, there's been nothing. It's like I'm repelling men rather than attracting them," Lauren said miserably,

"Aww!" Rose said, leaning over and hugging her, "You'll find someone who'll sweep you off your feet, I know you will,"

"I hope so," her friend said dismally, "It just feels like you two are running ahead of me in relationships and leaving me way behind. I mean, you're getting married, Kirsty, and you, Rose, you've been in a relationship for… how long now?"

"Five years next month," Rose answered promptly,

"You see!" Lauren cried out, "Five years with the man of your dreams even though he never seems to propose,"

"Lauren, you'll find someone," Kirsty said encouragingly, "Rose, have you actually spoken to the Doctor about it?"

"Nope," Rose said, "I'm too scared to,"

"What about Jack?"

Rose shook her head again.

"Maybe you should talk to Jack," Lauren considered, "I mean, he might have more of an idea what's going through the Doctor's head being male and an alien at least to this time period,"

"I suppose," Rose said slowly, "I just really want to get married to the Doctor. I love him, he's my soul mate and I know he's the one,"

"That's how I feel about Scott," Kirsty agreed solemnly,

"That's how I feel about my imaginary boyfriend," Lauren groused to the amusement of her friends.

After finishing their lunch, the girls decided to head back to the Powell Estate as Kirsty's feet were beginning to feel sore. They lugged their numerous bags onto the tube and off again before arriving outside the TARDIS to discover no-one about.

"Want to come in for a while?" Rose asked, fidgeting for her key,

"Sure," her friends nodded, following her inside.

Rose expected the TARDIS to be empty as the lights were all off when they entered but as they automatically switched on, she noticed a slumped figure in the captain's chair. "Doctor?" she asked, dropping her bags and scooting over to him, "What's up?"

"Hmm, nothing," he replied, with a smile, "I was just thinking."

Rose looked at him before swivelling her head to her friends. "Do you two want to go on to the lounge? Maybe pick out a movie we can put on."

Lauren and Kirsty nodded and disappeared into the bowels of the TARDIS, remembering the way to one of the few rooms they had visited.

"Thinking about what?" Rose asked, "Why were the lights off?" She was unnerved with his strange behaviour,

"It's nothing to worry about, my love," the Doctor replied, putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her to him, "OK?"

"What happened?"

"I was just as the pub with Jack and Scott- nice bloke, by the way- when I got one of my feelings…"

"Oh," Rose said. His feelings usually meant bad news,

"Something's bugging me, something's not right," the Doctor confessed, "I don't know what it is but I want you to be extra careful, OK? Promise me that, Rose,"

"I promise," Rose said immediately, hugging him, "You be careful too,"

"I'm always careful," the Doctor grinned offhandedly,

"Doctor…" Rose moaned, "Please. I don't want to lose you,"

"Hey, you won't," he reassured her, stroking her cheek gently, "I promise I'll be careful too. What's bought this on, Rose?"

"You're making me paranoid!" she said, "And… and we keep arguing and I'm scared it's gonna damage us," she finished in a small voice,

"Oh Rose," the Doctor said, hugging her, "All couples have arguments,"

"But we've hardly had any before," she whispered, "And suddenly we've just been having loads,"

"Maybe we're making up for them or something?" the Doctor shrugged, "I wouldn't worry. We're still as close as ever, aren't we?"

Rose nodded, managing a small smile,

"Well then. Anyway, like I said, there's nothing to worry about. Go on, Kirsty and Lauren will be waiting for you,"

"Do you want to come and join us?" Rose offered,

"No, thanks," the Doctor said with a chuckle, "I'll be fine here. Plus you won't be able to gossip about me when I'm in the room."

Rose grinned, a blush staining her cheeks, her mood restored. "Alright, Doctor. But the offers still open if you change your mind."

The Doctor nodded before leaning in and sweetly kissing her. "Love you," he breathed,

"Love you too," Rose said before getting up and joining her friends for movies and gossiping. But all through the afternoon, she couldn't get the Doctor's words out of her head. Was something wrong? Was something coming? Rose felt very uneasy.

* * *

The next couple of days passed pleasantly enough. Rose spent time catching up with her friends and mother and making friends with Scott. He seemed an incredibly nice person and got on well with the Doctor and Jack. They were even debating whether to let him into their secret about who they really were and what they did.

Matt turned up the day after their arrival to a great welcome. Rose thought he looked pale and tired and he explained that apprenticing to some barrister chambers was really taking it out of him. He was also a bit heartbroken still as he and his former boyfriend Jake had parted ways since the TARDIS trio's last visit. The Doctor and Rose were sad to hear this as they had really liked Jake, but Matt said they had just grown apart. Jack took Matt off for the day and he returned home looking a lot happier, Rose had no doubt that Jack had worked some of his magic on her friend.

Kirsty had mentioned to Rose that she wanted to visit a big marital shop somewhere outside of London and so it was four days after their return to Earth that Rose was standing outside the TARDIS doubtfully watching the Doctor doing something to a motorcycle that he had found in the depths of the TARDIS. She let out a sigh, thinking back to the evening before when she had asked Kirsty how they planned to get there.

"Motorbikes," Kirsty had said enthusiastically, "Scott's an ace motorcyclist and he said he'd give me a lift. He's bringing one of his best mates to give Lauren a ride and he said he can bring another for you unless the Doctor can ride. Can he?"

"Erm, kind of," Rose answered, thinking back to the last time she'd been on a moped with the Doctor during the Queen's Coronation, "Not sure he ever passed his test though. But then again, I'm not sure he ever passed his test to pilot the TARDIS…"

Her friends giggled.

"So, does he have his own bike?" Kirsty asked,

"I dunno," Rose said, "He might do somewhere in the TARDIS. I'll ask him and text you the answer,"

"Right," Kirsty nodded, "Well, Scott said he can get a spare one if he doesn't. So, we'll meet you at nine o'clock outside the TARDIS tomorrow morning. See you then!"

As it happened, the Doctor did have another motorcycle and at Rose's urging and much to his disgust, he found himself practising how to ride it at eight o'clock the next morning.

"Oh, there you are!" he said, standing up and turning around to see her, "Did you find it?"

"Yup," Rose said, brandishing the pink helmet that she had originally worn on their adventure in 1953, "It was in the wardrobe next to the skirt and jacket. I was so tempted to put them on as well but thought it might look a bit out of place plus I remembered what a killer it was wearing a skirt on the moped."

The Doctor grinned and ran his hands over her arse. "I prefer you in jeans anyway. Get to see your delicious figure…"

Rose smiled and rewarded him with a kiss. "Have you been practising?" she then asked,

"Yeah," he nodded, "Get on, I'll show you."

* * *

Kirsty, Scott, Lauren and Scott's mate arrived at the Estate about an hour later to discover Rose grounding to a halt on the motorbike, her hands on the handles, with the Doctor sitting behind her, his hands over hers. They watched as the Doctor leant forward and whispered something in her ear which made her giggle and smile, lean back against him and say something back to him. Whatever it was made him smile proudly, wrap his arms tightly around her and kiss her sweetly.

"It's rather nauseating, isn't it?" Lauren remarked.

Scott shook his head in disbelief. "Why the hell aren't they married?" he said, "They're just perfect and obviously in love,"

"Welcome to what we're all wondering, including Rose," Kirsty said, "C'mon, let's go break it up or we'll never get there."

The four of them wandered over, pushing the two bikes with them. The Doctor and Rose broke apart when they saw them coming and smiled welcomingly.

"This is Danyal, my best mate," Scott said, gesturing to the young man beside him. He was tall and well built with very dark brown hair and smouldering brown eyes,

"Hi," Rose said with a grin,

"Hey there," he replied easily, "I go by Dan most of the time. Good to meet you both. Shall we go then?"

"I just need to get something. Won't be a min," the Doctor said, disappearing into the TARDIS. Scott and Dan raised their eyebrows at just why he was going into a police box but didn't say anything. Seconds later, the Doctor was back, wearing something over the jeans and t-shirt he had decided to don for the outing.

It was his previous reincarnations leather jacket.

* * *

**_Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received_**


	3. A Trip Out

**Domestics and Divisions**

_**Thanks for the reviews! Lectures start tomorrow but I've not got the most stressful timetable in the world this semester so hopefully I'll be able to keep on going with the weekly updates. Hope you enjoy.**_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me**_

_**

* * *

**_**Part three: A Trip Out**

Rose felt a lump in her throat as she stared at her lover. She hadn't seen the jacket since the Doctor had regenerated and she hasn't realised just how much she'd missed it.

"Rose?" the Doctor asked in concern.

She slid her arms around him, underneath the jacket like she used to, and clung onto him. The Doctor stroked her hair after working out what was wrong. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "I didn't realise you were still that attached,"

"Neither did I," she mumbled,

"Do you want me to take it off?" he asked her gently.

Rose shook her head. "No," she said quietly, "I like it. I was just a bit shocked to see it again,"

"OK," the Doctor nodded, pressing a kiss to her lips, "You know it's only a piece of clothing though. It's…"

"Still you inside. You're still the same man," Rose completed with a smile, "I know,"

"Good," the Doctor smiled back, "You ready to go then?"

"Yeah," Rose nodded, glancing at her friends who were looking a little puzzled as to why she'd gotten so upset over a simple leather jacket. She smiled weakly at them before returning her gaze to her lover. "Let's go. I've already said goodbye to Mum and told her who to give all my stuff to in case we die,"

"Cheeky!" the Doctor said, nudging her, "C'mon then."

She grinned before climbing up behind him, putting her pink helmet on and wrapping her arms around his waist. The Doctor kicked the engine into life before following Scott and Danyal out of the Estate. They cruised along the streets for a while until they hit the motorway.

"Let's go!" Scott yelled from up front. He stepped down on his accelerator and roared off down the motorway, closely followed by Danyal and the Doctor. Kirsty, Lauren and Rose clung on tightly and screamed with delight, laughing and waving at each other on this ultimate thrill ride.

"Faster!" Rose told the Doctor excitedly, pressing against his back, her long hair streaming out behind them,

"Your wish is my command," the Doctor shouted back, upping their speed.

As a result of their speed- which they hoped hasn't gotten them any speeding tickets- the six of them made it to the big shop within the hour. They parked and then went their separate ways, making arrangements to meet up at lunchtime. The girls went straight to the bridal wear area and spent ages oohing and ahhing over potential wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses for her bridesmaids, whom Rose had yet to meet.

"So, Rose," Kirsty asked from inside the changing room, "What was going on earlier with the Doctor's leather jacket?"

Rose let out a sigh and leant against the wall. "You know when I explained to you about regeneration and showed you what he looked like when I first met him? Well, that was his jacket."

Lauren put an arm around her shoulders, her face creased with sympathy. Rose had told them the whole story about what had happened and how she'd felt when he'd changed in front of her eyes. "Did he not realise?" she asked softly.

Rose shook her head. "I think he thought I'd be over pining over a stupid item of clothing. I thought I was too. Guess it shows what a big baby I am and why he doesn't want to marry me,"

"Rose! Don't be silly," Kirsty scolded, "You know he doesn't think you're a baby otherwise he wouldn't take you with him in your adventures!" She was silent for a moment before speaking again, "OK, I'm ready. What do you think?" She pulled back the curtain and smiled nervously at her best friends.

"Oh, Kirsty! You look wonderful!" Lauren squealed, leaping up and circling her friend.

Rose simply stared at her. Her heart ached. _She_ wanted to be the vision in white. She held her breath to stop the tears coming and hoarsely said, "You look beautiful, Kirsty. Is this the one?"

"Maybe," Kirsty nodded, "I'm gonna try on the others as well just to make sure but its definitely going on the high possibility pile."

Rose nodded. Great; just what she wanted. More wedding dresses.

Lauren noticed her expression. "Hey, why don't you try on a wedding dress, Rose?" she suggested, "Just for fun?"

"Oh, I dunno," Rose said hesitating,

"Go on!" her friends encouraged her.

She gave a grin. "OK," she nodded, "Come and help me pick on, Lauren?"

Her friend nodded and together they re-entered the bridal wear department.

Fifteen minutes later, Rose slipped a satiny dress over her head, adjusted the fastenings and then looked at herself in the full length mirror. She felt tears come to her eyes.

"Bloody hell, Rose!" Kirsty swore, "Outshine me, why don't you?"

Rose gave a weak giggle.

"The Doctor is a fool," Lauren nodded, "You look incredible, Rose,"

"Thanks," she replied softly, "I…"

She was cut off suddenly by screaming coming from… well, everywhere.

"Look!" Kirsty gasped, pointing behind her, her face white,

"What _are_ they?" Lauren wailed.

Rose glanced at her reflection in the mirror and felt her stomach drop unpleasantly. Behind her, outside the changing area, she could see… ghosts, for lack of a better word. They were humanoid in shape but didn't seem to have any features. Instead, they were a sort of silvery liquidly form and gave Rose a bad feeling.

"They're outside too!" Lauren yelled from the window,

"Do you know what they are, Rose?" Kirsty asked, a note of fright in her voice, "Are they aliens?"

She shook her head. "I've never seen them before. I think we should go and find the…"

She was cut off again by her friends exclamations as the 'ghosts' suddenly disappeared before their very eyes.

"Where've they gone?" asked Lauren in a whisper.

Rose and Kirsty shrugged, joining her at the window. In the car park below, a group of people were huddled together, talking tensely.

"You… you don't think it _was_ ghosts, do you?" Kirsty whispered nervously,

"Nah," Rose said dismissively, "The Doctor says ghosts don't exist. Everything has a logical explanation,"

"An alien then?" Lauren suggested, her voice less shaky now,

"Maybe," Rose said, "I've never seen them before. Come on; it's probably best if we find the Doctor,"

"No need, I'm already here," announced a familiar voice.

Rose turned to grin at her lover but her smile slowly slipped off her face at his expression. He was standing stock still, staring at her. "What?" she asked nervously,

"I thought it was Kirsty getting married," he said, gesturing to her dress,

"Oh…" Rose muttered, blushing. She'd forgotten that she had it on,

"And who may I ask are you marrying 'cause I know it's not me," the Doctor continued.

Rose saw her friends wince on her behalf as she felt an unpleasant sensation in her stomach. So that confirmed that then. The Doctor didn't want to marry her. Trying not to cry, she answered the Doctor. "It was just a bit of fun," she mumbled, "Just thought I'd try one on while we were waiting,"

"OK," the Doctor said cheerfully, unaware of the pain he was putting her through, "Well, I need you to take it off and get dressed again as quickly as possible. We need to go back to London,"

"OK," Rose nodded, springing into the changing room, hoping to take her mind off her heart, "Do you have any idea what those things were?"

"Nope," the Doctor replied, following her and sticking his head through the curtain. "Rose," he said, "Just so you know, you look absolutely breathtaking in that dress. I've never seen you look so beautiful before; and that's saying something."

Rose beamed at him and he smiled back before leaving her to get dressed. Two minutes later she was ready and, after an apologetic goodbye to her friends, she hurried out of the building and climbed onto the back of the motorcycle. The Doctor kicked the bike into life and they roared off.

If they hadn't got any speeding tickets on the way there, they certainly would have on the way home. Although, as the Doctor said, the licence plate on the bike was entirely fake so any tickets they did incur would never reach them. They got back to the TARDIS in forty five minutes and soon were inside, clustered around the console, discussing the events with Jack. He had been out with Matt but had raced back to the TARDIS as soon as the ghosts had disappeared.

"So, they appeared roughly fifty five minutes ago," the Doctor concluded, pulling some equipment out, "Rose, can you go and stand by the door and tell me immediately if they appear again?" At her nod, he said, "Thanks, love. Jack, give me a hand with this, will you?"

The ex-time agent nodded. "What are you trying to do?" he questioned as he picked up four cones,

"This device will trap one of the ghosts if they reappear and it'll tell us where they're coming from," the Doctor briefly explained, "You checked out Torchwood the other day, didn't you? It couldn't be them messing, could it?"

"I didn't see anything suspicious," Jack said, "Everything seemed as normal as life inside Torchwood can be. They've started using a new floor way up in the building but Yvonne said that's because of overcrowding. Ianto's been promoted to Torchwood Three in Cardiff by the way. I'm going to go and see him soon,"

"Good for him," the Doctor muttered busily. He had liked the shy Welshman who had helped them out a lot in their run-in with Torchwood and the Master two years ago.

Jack grinned and followed the Doctor out of the TARDIS and helped him set up a strange contraption. As the Time Lord disappeared back inside, Jack noticed Rose looked a bit pensive.

"Hey, are you alright, honey?" he asked her, leaning against the side of their spaceship,

"Hmm? Oh, yeah," she nodded, forcing a smile. To be honest, she wasn't. She was still reeling from the Doctor's earlier comment. Did he really not want to marry her? She felt Jack studying her closely and soon his arm draped around her shoulders, pulling her in to him.

"You know where I am if you want to talk at any time," he whispered.

Rose nodded, turning around in his embrace. She remembered what her friends had suggested about discussing her worries with Jack. "I think I might take you up on that," she mumbled, "But the Doctor can't know,"

"OK," Jack nodded, keeping his voice low, "Tell you what. We'll go out for a walk as soon as we can and then you can tell me what's on your mind." He was glad that she seemed to finally be opening up. He'd been worried about her lately as she'd been as closed up as her namesake in early spring.

Rose smiled up at him before starting as the Doctor suddenly appeared again.

"Alright then!" he cried, "Next sighting is due any second now if they return after exactly one hour. Rose I need you to press some switches for me when I say so." He took her hand and led her inside over to the console, "Soon as the cones activate, if that line goes into the red, press that button there. If it doesn't stop…" He handed her the sonic screwdriver, "Setting fifteen B, hold it against the port, eight seconds and stop,"

"Fifteen B, eight seconds," Rose repeated, with a nod,

"If it goes into the blue, activate the deep scan on the left…"

"Hang on a minute, I know," Rose interrupted, eager to try and impress him. "It's that one?" she questioned, pointing at a turn dial,

"Close," the Doctor grinned,

"That one?" she guessed, pointing at another.

The Doctor grimaced. "No, you've just killed us…"

Rose giggled. "Er… that one?"

"Yeah!" the Doctor said happily, "Now, what have we got, eight seconds to go? Get ready, Rose." He raced outside again. "Jack, it's five seconds before n plus one hour,"

"Ready!" he called back, his eyes trained on his watch, "Four…three…two…one…"

He and the Doctor both looked up expectantly but there was nothing. The Doctor's face fell.

"Oh…" he muttered but suddenly screams erupted from all over as the ghost-like creatures appeared again. "Rose, now!" the Doctor bellowed.

He started running around the four cones, briefly attaching the plunger end of what Jack thought looked extraordinarily like a Dalek's sucker. "What's the line doing?" the Doctor yelled into Rose,

"It's alright, it's holding!" she shouted back.

The Doctor nodded to himself, carefully watching the cones. "Here we go," he called,

"Scanners working!" Rose said, "It says 'delta one six'!"

The Doctor straightened up. "Come on then, you beauty!" he grinned manically. Jack chuckled just to see him. His mouth suddenly dropped open as one of the creatures appeared in a sort of dome of light, swaying slightly from side to side. He then looked towards the Doctor who had put on a pair of 3D glasses on and was intently studying the creature before he suddenly dropped to the ground and twisted a dial on a small box attached to the ring of cones. It started beeping, tracking down the source of the creatures. The Doctor chuckled as the trapped creature began wriggling around. "Look at that! Don't like that much, do you? Who are you? Where are you coming from…?" he muttered, "…Whoa!" The Doctor leapt back as the creature suddenly seemed to swing out at him, "Now that's more like it! Not so friendly now, are you?"

Jack raised his eyebrows as he listened to the creature grunt as it writhed in its prison before it melted away.

"Jack, come on!" the Doctor bellowed, running around and collecting in the cones. Jack hastened to help before bundling into the TARDIS, grabbing onto a rail as the Doctor activated the ship.

"I said so! Those ghosts are being forced into existence from one specific point and I can track down the source. Allons y!" he cried out as he released the brake and fell backwards onto the captain's chair with Rose. He smiled at her, kissing her head as they landed before leaping up again energetically, "Right, let's see who's been messing with things they don't understand," he growled, his face suddenly grim.

Jack and Rose exchanged a glance before following him outside, hearing his gasp of recognition before seeing where they were or noticing the rows of armed guards surrounding them, headed by the familiar figure of Yvonne Hartman.

"Torchwood?" the Doctor said, "_You're_ doing this?"

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_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received**_


	4. My Baby

**Domestics and Divisions**

_**Thanks for the reviews! Hope you enjoy and I need lots of review love as I had a flamer on AS Levels and Aliens. Boo hoo. It's made me very upset. Hehe.**_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me**__**- a lot of AoG dialogue in this chapter which obviously isn't mine. **_

_**

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**_**Part Four: My Baby**

"Hello, Doctor," Yvonne said amicably,

"What's going on?" he demanded harshly, his face a mask of rage, "What are those ghost things?"

"Oh, do you like them?" Yvonne beamed,

"Not particularly when they're terrifying the population and I don't know what they are!" the Doctor spat. He strode forwards, ignoring the armed guards, "Tell me what's going on, Yvonne!"

Yvonne's smile slipped slightly at his tone. "Stand down," she muttered to the guards. They did so and watched as their leader led the three visitors out of the room.

* * *

"So, what about these ghosts?" the Doctor demanded, a few minutes later when they had climbed several floors and appeared in a large white room with one completely blank wall facing them. Around the room were scattered Torchwood officials at desks and two levers stuck into the ground on either side of the rectangular room.

"Ah yes, the ghosts," Yvonne said, taking a seat at an empty desk in a small office that was behind a glass wall, embellished with the Torchwood logo. She invited the Doctor to take the empty seat opposite. Meanwhile, Jack slowly explored the room and Rose sat on the floor at the Doctor's feet, resting her head on his knee. She was suddenly feeling tired. He smiled and began to comb through her hair with his fingers as Yvonne continued speaking, "They're what you might call a side effect,"

"Of what?" the Doctor questioned immediately.

Yvonne let out a sigh, whether one of tiredness or frustration at being caught, the Doctor couldn't tell. "Do you remember the sphere?" she asked.

The Doctor nodded. They had taken the sphere away and plunged it into the void two years ago, with the Master inside. There was no way it could have come back without him knowing.

"Well, the sphere came through here back then," she continued, gesturing at the blank wall outside of the office, "It's a hole in the world. Not active at the moment. But when we fire particle engines at that exact spot, the breach opens up,"

"How did you even find it?" the Doctor asked intrigued,

"We were getting warning signs for years, a radar black spot," Yvonne explained, "So we built this place, Torchwood Tower. The breach was 600 feet above sea level. It was the only way to reach it. But it's only recently, since the whole Harold Saxon fiasco, that we've had the money and the man power to investigate it further,"

"Hoping we wouldn't come knocking?" the Doctor said coolly, "And deceiving poor Jack whenever he came checking up on you,"

"We knew you wouldn't let us proceed," Yvonne retorted,

"And you were right!" the Doctor exploded, leaping up and sending Rose sprawling to the floor. "Sorry, Rose," he apologised quickly, helping her up before facing the Torchwood leader once more, anger very apparent on his face. Rose held her breath in anticipation. The Doctor in a rage was always a spectacular sight- as long as you weren't the person on the end of it.

"So!" the Doctor shouted, "You find the breach, probe it, the Sphere comes through, six hundred feet above London, bam! It leaves a hole in the fabric of reality. And that hole, you think 'Oh, shall we leave this alone? Shall we back off? Should we play it safe?' Nah, you think 'Let's make it _bigger!_'"

"It's a massive source of energy!" Yvonne reciprocated loudly, "If we can harness that power, we need never depend on the Middle East again! Britain will be become truly independent." She looked at her watch before carelessly saying, "You can see for yourself, the next ghost shifts in two minutes,"

"Cancel it,"

"I don't think so," she replied coolly,

"I'm warning you. Cancel it," the Doctor growled, folding his arms. At Yvonne's second refusal, he let out a sigh and strode over to the glass wall. "Let me show you," he said, withdrawing the sonic screwdriver, aiming it at the glass and pressing a button. A crack appeared, quickly followed by several more. "Sphere comes through. But when it made the hole, it cracked the world around it. The entire surface of the dimension, splintered. And that's how the ghosts get through, that's how they get everywhere. They're bleeding through the fault lines. Walking from their world, across the void, and into yours." He demonstrated by making walking movements with two fingers. Rose let out a small grin before it faded at what happened next.

"With the human race hoping and wishing and helping them along," the Doctor continued, "But too many ghosts and…" The entire glass wall shattered and shards of glass fell to the carpeted floor with a resounding crash.

Yvonne swallowed, looking at the mess on the floor before glancing at the Doctor. She lifted her chin defiantly. "Well, in that case, we'll have to be more careful. Positions! Ghost shift in one minute,"

"Yvonne!" the Doctor said exasperated, "I am asking you, please don't do it,"

"Doctor, we're in control of the ghosts. The levers can open the breach but equally they can close it," she explained patiently.

The Doctor sighed and Rose watched him anxiously, waiting for his next retort. He stared at Yvonne for a long while before simply saying, "OK."

Rose was flabbergasted, a look that was clearly represented on Yvonne's face. "Sorry?" she said,

"Never mind. As you were," the Doctor said, waving a hand carelessly,

"What? Is that it?" Yvonne said, her confusion evident,

"No, fair enough. I've said my bit. Don't mind me," the Doctor said, walking back over to Rose and perching on the desk. Rose sent him a curious look and he replied with a cheeky smile, "Any chance of a cup of tea?" he asked,

"Ghost shift in twenty seconds," a nameless Torchwood employee called out,

"Mmm, can't wait to see it!" the Doctor grinned, rubbing his hands,

"You can't stop us, Doctor," Yvonne said, authoritatively,

"No, absolutely not," he agreed, "Rose, come over here and watch the fireworks."

Rose did as he said, moving into his arms. He wrapped them around her waist, leaning his chin on her shoulder as they both listened to the employee counting down to the next ghost shift and watching Yvonne's face. Her expressions changed like a traffic light, going from confident to curious and then to uncertain where it stopped.

"Stop the shift!" she commanded sharply, "I said, stop!"

Rose felt the Doctor relax. "Thank you," he said softly,

"I suppose it makes sense to get as much intelligence as possible," Yvonne said with the air of trying to maintain her dignity,

"I'm glad to be of help," the Doctor nodded, "Trust me, Yvonne."

She nodded before quickly turning around, exiting the office, calling out "And someone clear up this glass!" as she went.

* * *

The Doctor lay silently in bed, watching Rose sleep beside him. He was worried about her. She didn't seem her normal bubbly self and he didn't know why. Usually, she told him all of her worries and shared every secret with him but she'd been closed off recently.

Checking that she was still fast asleep, he carefully untangled himself from her grip and padded out of the room. It was late at night and he knew Jack would probably have retired by now but there was a chance he was still awake. The Doctor knew Jack wasn't needing to sleep as much as he used to and this was another thing that was worrying him. He wondered if it was a side effect of what had happened to Jack two years ago when they had faced the Master and Jack had been killed and then had somehow come back to life. The Doctor still wasn't entirely sure about this new found power of Jack's and it hadn't happened but he had discovered that he felt slightly odd when Jack was around as if the ex-Time Agent was wrong somehow. He ignored it though. Jack was one of his closest friends whom he trusted entirely and he wasn't about to let an odd feeling stop that.

Upon reaching Jack's bedroom door, he knocked quietly and waited for the "come in," before he entered.

"What's up, Doc?" Jack asked from where he was stretched out on his bed. He moved his feet out of the way so the Doctor could sit down.

"Do you know what's wrong with Rose?" he asked after taking a seat, "I know something is but she's not saying anything."

Jack nodded. "I've noticed that as well. I asked her earlier and she said she was fine but then she said she wanted to talk to me about something so we're going to do that." Too late, Jack realised Rose had made him promise not to tell the Doctor.

The Time Lord frowned. He was wondering why Rose would go to Jack over him. Then he suddenly thought it might be something to do with him that she was worried about. "Can you chat to her ASAP," he requested, "I wish she would come to me but…"

Jack nodded solemnly. "We'll take a walk later on today,"

"Thanks," the Doctor said gratefully, "Do you have any idea what it could be about?"

Jack shook his head. He suspected that it was something to do with the Doctor but he wasn't about to say anything before he got the whole story from Rose.

The Doctor shrugged, worry creasing his forehead. "Make sure she knows she can talk to me about anything," he said, "I've told her enough times but you know…"

"Yeah," Jack said, "So, do you think that's the end of those freaky ghost things now?"

"Hopefully," his friend nodded, feeling glad for the change of conversation, "We'll keep an eye out but I think I managed to persuade Yvonne that they're bad news." He let out a heavy sigh. "I wish they'd just leave things they don't understand alone. It's fine that they want to study alien artefacts that fall to Earth or whatever but experimenting with a hole in the universe!? One day, they're gonna do irreparable damage and we're not going to be able to stop them."

"Yeah," Jack agreed, "What they need is sort of like a leader who's experienced in these kinds of things but other than us three, who is there?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I really don't know, Jack."

* * *

_Rose took a deep breath before putting one satin slippered foot in front of her and starting her procession down the aisle to the sound of the organ, followed by two unseen bridesmaids. Ahead of her, she could see her family and the vicar waiting for her. The butterflies inside her stomach fluttered as her eyes passed over each before coming to rest on the Doctor who was standing, gazing at her. She returned his smile before reaching him and taking his outstretched hand._

_The vicar smiled at them before beginning the service. Rose listened to each and every word he said; all the time being absolutely aware of the man next to her, firmly clasping her hand._

_She held her breath as the vicar asked if there was anybody present who knew of a reason why the couple should not be married. There was a silence for a moment before the Doctor suddenly dropped her hand and loudly announced, "I do."_

_There was a collective gasp from the audience and Rose turned to face him, feeling numb._

"_I don't want to marry you," he said plainly,_

"_Why?" Rose whispered, her lower lip starting to tremble,_

"_Oh, don't start crying on me again," the Doctor snapped, "I'm sick and tired of you constantly crying over everything! If something goes wrong or I refuse to do something, you cry! Grow a backbone for a change. Do you really think I want a constant cry baby for my companion, my lover?"_

_Rose was shocked into silence. He'd never spoken to her like that before and it was their wedding day…_

Rose shot up in bed, breathing deeply as she recounted the dream. It had been so realistic… Did the Doctor really think she was a cry baby? What if he did? Was that why he didn't want to marry her? She let out a broken sob as her head fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face as all her worries and fears and confusion got to her.

* * *

The Doctor looked up suddenly in mid-conversation with Jack. The ex-time agent watched curiously as his eyes unfocused before he realised what was happening. The TARDIS was communicating with the Doctor again. Jack gave a start as his friend leapt up.

"Something's really wrong with Rose," he explained, already half way through the door.

Jack hurried to catch up with up. "The TARDIS told you?"

"Yup," the Doctor confirmed, striding down the corridor, "She said she's in tears." They reached the Doctor and Rose's bedroom and he pushed the door open to reveal Rose in the same position, sobs wracking her form. Jack watched from the door as the Doctor crawled over the bed and wrapped his arms around his lover from behind, kissing her shoulder and telling her that he was here for her. She shuffled around in his embrace, clutching onto his clothing as her sobs suddenly seemed to increase.

The Doctor glanced helplessly over at Jack, starting to comb his fingers through her hair in an attempt to calm her down.

"Baby, what's wrong?" he asked gently, hoping to reassure her with one of his latest pet-names for her.

Rose tightened her grip on him. It must really mean he thought she was a baby if he called her one! She felt a tissue being pressed into her hand, knowing just from the feel of the hand that it was Jacks'. She looked up at him gratefully and he smiled back before leaving the room. Rose turned her gaze to meet the Doctor's who was watching her thoughtfully, concern in his eyes. He smiled at her as well before taking the tissue and gently wiping her tears away. There was silence for a while, punctured by an occasional sob from Rose as she fought to get herself under control. Finally, she was ready.

"Do… do you think I'm a baby, Doctor?" she asked in a trembling voice.

He looked confused for a moment. "No," he denied, "Of course I don't. You're my baby; not _a_ baby."

Rose smiled slightly at his admission before her expression grew solemn once more. "But I seem to cry a lot about stupid things and it's got to annoy you and wish I'd grow a backbone,"

"It doesn't," the Doctor said truthfully, "There's nothing wrong with crying, Rose. Sometimes you just need to have a good cry to sort out any crazy mixed up emotions inside you. It doesn't mean you're a coward or anything, OK?"

She nodded slowly. "And it doesn't make you regret asking me to travel with you?"

"Nope. Rose, this might sound weird but I _like_ it when you cry. It gives me an extra excuse to cuddle you and make you happy again. And I like doing that," the Doctor smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Rose tightened her grip on him. "And… and you still love me even though I cry a lot?"

The Doctor answered with a firm kiss to her lips. "Rose, I will always love you," he whispered, "Even if you never stop crying, I'll never get tired of you. You've imprinted yourself on my hearts and nothing could ever remove you from them." He pressed another quick kiss to her lips before resting his forehead against hers, intently studying her eyes, "Is that what's been making you a bit distant lately? You don't think I love you anymore?"

She let out a sigh, not being able to tear her eyes away from his. "Sort of," she admitted, "But I can't tell you the full reason, Doctor, I just can't!"

"OK," he calmly accepted, stroking her hair, "But promise me one thing, Rose?"

"What?" she asked quietly,

"Tell Jack. I don't have to know if you really don't want me to but make sure he knows so one of us does just in case, alright? Don't keep it all in here," he said, tapping her on the forehead, "Or you'll get stressed out. Promise me that?"

Rose nodded. "I was going to tell him anyway," she admitted quietly, resting her head on his shoulder and letting out a yawn,

"Good," the Doctor nodded, "C'mon then. Let's go to bed."

Rose nodded sleepily as he quickly stripped down to his boxers and then crawled into bed with her. He pressed a kiss to her forehead before allowing her to rest her head on his chest as she drifted off to sleep. The Doctor watched her, frowning slightly.

What had he done to make her think he didn't love her anymore?

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_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received**_


	5. Mark Three

**Domestics and Divisions**

_**OK, so you're getting it a day early 'cause I'm out all day tomorrow. Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter and I hope you enjoy. **_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to m**__**e.**_

_**

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**_**Part Five: Mark Three**

Rose woke up the next morning to find herself still tightly cocooned within the Doctor's arms. She yawned sleepily, smiling slightly at the feeling of protectiveness he emitted before turning her head on the pillow to face him.

"Mmm, morning," she said tiredly,

"Hey beautiful," he replied, looking wide awake. Rose knew he'd probably been awake for hours but hadn't moved in fear of waking her. He leant in for a brief good morning kiss before asking, "Do you have any plans for today?"

"Yeah," she replied, trying to activate her brain, "Me and Kirsty and Lauren are going out baby shopping in the city,"

"I thought babies were given birth to, not bought," the Doctor teased.

Rose feebly hit him and he laughed before turning serious. "Are you doing that this morning?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "Try an' avoid the crowds. Or that's the idea. Why?"

"I want you to do something for me," he replied, "I want you to have a chat with Jack as soon as you get back,"

"Alright," Rose said, her face falling as she remembered her worries, "Doctor, I really want to tell you but…"

The Doctor trailed his fingers through her hair as he spoke, "Tell Jack," he said firmly, "Don't worry about me." His other hand skated up her back to her shoulders and felt her muscles. They were all knotted up. "Come here," he requested, sitting up and getting her to turn her back to him. "Whatever this is, it's really worrying you, isn't it, baby?" he said as he began to massage her shoulders and neck.

Rose nodded, humming slightly as he worked out the tension.

"I'm going to take you away," he decided, "Just for a little while- we'll be back well in time for Kirsty's wedding but I think you need a break,"

"Where?" Rose asked,

"Fancy going to Mark Three again?" the Doctor suggested,

"God, yes!" Rose said excitedly. Mark Three was an independent, human populated relaxation planet that the Doctor had taken her to after their run-in with the Master when she had forgotten everything about the Doctor. It had a spa on it with everything you'd ever want and plenty of places to go and relax. Rose had loved their stay there and had longed to go back, especially as the Doctor had lifelong membership there after saving it from a takeover bid by a huge company.

"Then it's settled," the Doctor said, kissing her shoulder gently, "Tell your friends this morning that we'll be gone for around a month and then we'll go after lunch. Sound OK?"

"Sounds perfect," Rose beamed.

And so it was that at just gone one that afternoon, the TARDIS faded from view in the Powell Estate on its way to Mark Three. Rose had told her friends and mother about their plans and they had been disappointed to hear that they were leaving so soon but understood. They made Rose promise to stay in touch and come back as soon as possible, well in time for the wedding. Rose happily agreed. It would take the entire universe and then some to stop her attending her best friend's wedding.

As soon as the TARDIS trio arrived on Mark Three, they booked into some of the treatments, such as a full body massage and a mud bath, before they relaxed on the grass outside where they had parked the TARDIS.

"So, when your first appointment, Rose?" the Doctor asked from where he was lying down with his lover's head resting on his stomach,

"Tomorrow at eleven," she yawned sleepily in the sunlight, "It's the pedicure that you signed up to too, Jack,"

"Fantastic," Jack grinned, inspecting his hands before looking pointedly at the Doctor,

"Right! Well, enough lazing around!" he said quickly and loudly, "The TARDIS needs some work done to her. See you both later,"

"Bye," his companions chorused: Jack discreetly nodding at him and Rose kissing him.

As the Doctor disappeared inside, Jack rolled over to Rose. "C'mon, honey. Let's get some exercise."

She nodded, suddenly looking woebegone as she stood up. Jack took her hand and they ambled off down a woodland trail close to where the TARDIS was. Neither of them knew the Doctor was watching them on the monitor.

"So, come on, spill," Jack said after a period of silence, "What's troubling my gorgeous best friend?"

Rose sighed, moving closer to his side. "How long have the Doctor and me been going out now, Jack?"

"Five years next month," he answered automatically, "Why?"

"I've been in love with him all that time and more," she muttered, "And I'm not sure it's possible for me to love him anymore than I do,"

"But…?" Jack prompted gently.

Rose stopped and turned to face him, tears in her eyes. "Why won't he ask me to marry him?" she cried out, "Do they just not do marriage on Gallifrey or is it me? Did I do something wrong, Jack? Am I too much of a baby for him to even consider marrying me or does he just not love me anymore?"

"Hey…" Jack whispered, drawing her into a tight hug. A lot of things suddenly made sense. "Rose, listen to me, sweetheart." He cupped her tearstained face in his hands, staring her in the eyes. "You've done nothing wrong. I'm pretty sure you could do no wrong in the Doctor's eyes. He loves you so much, Rose, its plain to see. Do you remember what he was like when we first met him with his big ears and nose?"

Rose nodded, letting out a shaky giggle.

"He was broken back then but you healed him, made him live again. He's told me he can't live without you; you're his shining star; his reason to keep going,"

"But why won't he marry me?" Rose whispered,

"I don't know," Jack admitted, "From what I know about Gallifrey, marriage between Time Lords and other races was banned but since when has the Doctor ever followed those rules?"

"So it's me?" Rose whimpered,

"No!" Jack almost shouted, "I don't honestly know why, Rose. Maybe he's building up to it or maybe he just doesn't believe in marriage. I think… I think you should talk to him about it. He's obviously worried about you,"

"I'm too scared," Rose admitted, "In case he says he doesn't want to,"

"Maybe that's a risk you're gonna have to take," Jack said with a shrug.

She nodded with a sigh, leaning her forehead against his chest. Although the talk hadn't answered her burning question, it had made her feel a little better and she didn't have such a heavy weight on her shoulders anymore. "If he's not gonna marry me, I don't think there's any chance he's gonna want to have a baby with me," she whispered with a sob a few minutes later,

"You want a baby?" Jack questioned gently, despite his shock.

Rose nodded. "I've been feeling broody for a while now," she explained in a whisper, "It's why I blew up so much when Kateri died. But since I got back to London and saw Kirsty was pregnant and spent so much time with her, exclaiming over and buying cute little outfits and stuff, it's just gotten worse. I want a baby with the Doctor so much."

Jack hugged her tightly and pressed a kiss to her hair. "Rose… you need to talk to the Doctor about all of this. You're gonna make yourself sick."

She sighed. "I know," she murmured, "I'll try but I'm just terrified he'll get angry with me for even thinking about marriage and babies,"

"You know he won't," Jack said, "He's rarely angry with you, honey, and when he is, it's over serious things like doing something stupid and then it's only him being overly worried about you."

Rose nodded. She did know that. "I don't even know if we can have a baby, if by some miracle he wants to. I asked him ages ago after that pregnancy scare- d'ya remember, with the Ziola? - and he said there's only a slim chance,"

"A slim chance is better than nothing," Jack said reassuringly before pausing. "Sweetheart," he said, almost awkwardly after a moment, "Just promise me that you won't deliberately get yourself pregnant by not using protection just 'cause you're desperate for a baby,"

"I can't believe you'd think I'd do that!" Rose said loudly, stepping away from him, "I'm not an idiot or selfish like that! I love the Doctor too much to force something on him that I don't even know if he wants!"

"OK, OK!" Jack said, holding his hands up in surrender, "I'm sorry,"

"Whatever," Rose sighed, rubbing her face before walking off down the trail.

"Rose?" Jack said, jogging after her, "You're not in a mood with me now, are you?"

"I just need some time alone," she replied, "I'll see you later." With that, she pushed past him and disappeared into the trees.

Jack sighed, sinking down to sit at the foot of one tree. Something was off with Rose. Her emotions were all over the place lately and that was very unusual for her. She'd rarely fought with Jack before- if they had an argument, they usually sorted it out immediately and ended with a long hug. They didn't just walk away. And then there was Rose being too afraid to tell the Doctor something. What was up with that? She usually told him everything. She knew he'd listen to her problems calmly and talk through them with her and come up with a sensible conclusion even if it was to do with him. He'd done it numerous times before. Jack tilted his head back against the tree and closed his eyes, letting the slanted sunlight bathe his face. He needed a good long think about things and hopefully he'd come up with a solution.

* * *

Rose pushed past a bush and smiled slightly when she saw a bench in a little clearing. She sank down onto it gratefully, taking the weight off her aching feet. She'd been wandering around the forest for hours now and the sun was setting in front of her, creating a bloody red glow over everything.

She needed to apologise to Jack for earlier. She didn't know why she brushed him off or yelled at him- it was one of the many odd things she'd been doing lately without understanding why she was doing it. She was so confused. Where was this constant terror that the Doctor didn't love her anymore coming from? She knew he did; he'd told her and shown her enough times but she was still always scared he didn't. She knew she was broody but was that what was making her feel so paranoid?

Suddenly, a high pitched giggle caught her attention and she looked up to see two little children running around together, playing a form of tag. They didn't look older than five and Rose's heart melted to see them. A shadow fell over her and she looked up to see a woman holding a baby.

"Mind if I sit here?" the woman asked,

"Sure," Rose replied, budging up slightly,

"Thanks," the woman smiled, "I can keep an eye on the twins easier from here."

Rose nodded. "Are they yours?"

"Yes. Annie and Patrick, twins of four years old. My little angels," the woman said lovingly.

Rose smiled.

"And this is my little Melanie," the woman continued, gazing down at the tiny bundle in her arms.

Rose took a closer look. "Oh, she's adorable," she said, holding out a finger so the baby could grasp it, "How old is she?"

"Three weeks," her companion said proudly, "We were meant to be coming here so I could have some of the special pregnancy pampering and perhaps give birth but Melanie arrived a little early. But it all turned out fine in the end and now we're all on holiday together as a family."

Rose smiled weakly.

"Do you have any children?" the woman asked interestedly,

"No," Rose sighed, her heart sinking. She'd known that question was coming.

"Married?"

"No. I'm here with my boyfriend of five years and my best friend but I needed some alone time," she explained, not knowing why she was telling this to the woman,

"Ah, five years? Sounds like a very steady relationship," the woman commented, "Reckon he'll be popping the question any time soon?"

Rose winced. Why was fate so cruel to her? "I hope so," she said quietly,

"Well, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you then. I hope he does ask you soon. Marriage is so lovely. I think every couple should get married; it makes your relationship and life so much better, stronger and happier."

Rose nodded silently before a wail rose up from the playing children.

"Oh, I better go," the woman said quickly, "Nice talking to you and good luck!"

"Thanks," Rose whispered as the woman quickly walked off.

She watched her caring for her child that had fallen over, hugging them and kissing their knee better. It brought tears to Rose's eyes. She wanted to be able to do that. She got up suddenly and began running back into the forest, hot tears burning in her eyelids. She could hardly see where she was going and, as a result, crashed into something firm and warm.

"Whoa, Rose!" the Doctor said, steadying her, "You OK? I was wondering where you'd got to. Jack came back without you and said you'd wandered off alone after an argument and quite a number of hours had passed since then so we were worried about you, Jack especially, he's gutted about whatever it is you were… Rose?" He stopped suddenly, before gently grasping her chin and pulling her face up to see his. "Baby, what's wrong?" he asked, seeing that she was silently crying.

Rose shook her head and tried to move away but the Doctor pulled her back into his arms. "Rose?"

"I'm so sick of being jealous," she whispered after a moment,

"Jealous of what?"

"Everyone else having a better life than me."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with your life?" he asked, sounding hurt,

"I want what I can't have,"

"Which is?" the Doctor prompted, getting the impression that he was about to find out what was worrying her so much.

Rose sighed, closing her eyes tightly. She gave up; she didn't care anymore. She needed to tell him and then pray he wouldn't hate her. She was fed up of keeping it a secret all the time. She took a deep breath. "I want…" she began before swallowing and starting again, "Doctor, I want to get married and have a baby with you…" She bit her lip, her whole body tense as she awaited his verdict.

* * *

_**Oooh, what's he going to say? Guesses in reviews. The main part of the story begins next chapter**__**. Til next week.**_

_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received**_


	6. The Worst Answer

**Domestics and Divisions**

_**Yeah… just remember that killing the author won't get you anywhere…**_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to m**__**e.**_

_**

* * *

**_**Part Six: The Worst Answer **

_Rose sighed, closing her eyes tightly. She gave up; she didn't care anymore. She needed to tell him and then pray he wouldn't hate her. She was fed up of keeping it a secret all the time. She took a deep breath. "I want…" she began before swallowing and starting again, "Doctor, I want to get married and have a baby with you…" She bit her lip, her whole body tense as she awaited his verdict._

* * *

Rose felt the Doctor's body tense up before he stepped away from her, looking down at her with wide and troubled eyes. Rose was holding her breath unconsciously, waiting for the words that would either stamp on her heart or raise it up joyfully.

"Rose…" the Doctor stuttered, "…We can't."

So, it was the first choice then. Rose actually felt her heart crumble into tiny pieces. "Why?" she managed to squeak, her eyes rapidly filling up with tears,

"It would be too dangerous," he replied, "Our life is far too dangerous to have a little one running around with us,"

"You said you'd be over the moon…" Rose choked,

"What?"

"Ages ago, when I thought I was pregnant, I asked you if you'd mind having a baby with me one day and you said you'd be over the moon if we did," she whispered. It was the one piece of evidence that she'd secretly clung onto over the past few weeks.

The Doctor sighed. "Things change, Rose."

She nodded shakily. "And getting married?" she prompted.

He just looked at her before slowly shaking his head.

Rose let out a sob, before turning around and running off into the trees, ignoring the Doctor's shouts for her to come back. She shot through the wood, tears blurring her vision and not really knowing where she was going. Consequently, she was surprised to find herself back at the TARDIS within a few moments. She slammed through the door and only stopped when she heard Jack call out her name.

"I'm sorry about earlier," he began before seeing her face and seizing her wrists, "Rose, what is it?"

"He said no," she gasped out,

"What?" Jack asked slowly,

"He said no! The Doctor doesn't want to marry me or have a baby with me! He hates me!" Rose screamed. She ducked away as Jack moved to pull her into a hug and ran down the corridor deeper into the time ship.

Jack's heart broke as the sound of her misery echoed around the silent TARDIS.

* * *

Rose curled up into a tighter ball under the duvet in her bedroom. Her face was wet, her eyes were red and swollen and her nose was sore from the non-stop crying she'd been doing over the last hour since she'd arrived back in here. Jack had come by to see her, shortly after she'd run out on him, but she hadn't been able to talk and after attempting and failing to calm her down, he'd gone, sensing that she needed some privacy, but with promises that he'd come back later. She hadn't seen the Doctor and didn't want to. She didn't even know if he was back but didn't care. For the first time since she'd met him, Rose didn't give a damn about him and that scared her. But he'd torn out her heart and stamped on it.

She gave a little whimper, brushing away her fresh tears as she thought about what had happened. She couldn't believe it- she didn't want to. He'd hurt her so much with his words and she wasn't sure she'd ever recover. She'd given her heart and soul to him and now they were damaged. She'd never felt this bad in all her life.

Suddenly she stiffened as the door abruptly opened and a voice called out her name. It was the Doctor.

"Go away!" she cried,

"Rose…" he said patiently,

"I said, go away!" she shouted, "I don't want to see you or talk to you so just get lost!"

"Angel…"

"Don't you dare call me that!" she screamed, sitting up suddenly and glaring at him; her face red and glistening from her tears, "Don't you dare call me that after you've ripped out my heart without caring!"

"Of course I care!" he shouted back, "Will you just listen to me!"

"No, I bloody well won't!" she yelled, "Just bugger off, Doctor!"

"Fine," he gave in, "But when you're feeling a little more mature, find me, 'cause we need to talk about this."

Rose buried herself back under the duvet as he left, slamming the door behind him. She began sobbing in earnest again as his words stung her deeply. She felt horribly alone. She'd always had the Doctor by her side but now she'd lost him. But it was all his fault for refusing to marry her and have a child with her…

* * *

Jack winced as the Doctor stormed back in the control room, with a face like thunder. It hadn't gone well then. The Time Lord had arrived back about ten minutes ago, looking saddened and worried. He'd immediately asked if Rose was here and then gone charging down the corridor to their room, intending to talk with her.

"She alright?" Jack asked cautiously from where he was lounging on the captain's chair,

"No," the Doctor ground out, "She's hysterical."

Jack bit his lip. It didn't sound like she'd calmed down any since he'd been to see her. "Did you manage to talk to her?"

"She wouldn't let me," the Doctor shouted angrily, "Kept telling me to go away. She's being completely unreasonable!"

Jack threw his magazine down and stood up. "Something's up with her, Doctor," he said calmly though his eyes were blazing, "You've got to have noticed. She's been weird for days now. I don't know what it is- she didn't tell me- but I do know it can't just be 'cause she's desperate to get married and have a baby,"

"Oh, so she told you!" the Doctor exploded,

"Only 'cause she was too terrified to tell you!" Jack yelled back, "What's that tell you about her mental state at the moment, Doctor? She's always told you everything! I'm telling you; something is wrong with our girl!"

The Doctor collapsed wearily onto Jack's vacated seat, suddenly looking every inch his nine hundred plus years. "I don't know what to do, Jack," he whispered, "How did we get like this?"

"'Cause you laughed in her face when she revealed her innermost want to you," Jack said stoutly.

The Doctor winced. "It's just not possible," he said lowly, "No matter how much we both want it, it can't happen,"

"You want to get married and have a baby _too_?" Jack asked, shocked.

The Doctor nodded. "But we can't. This life is too dangerous for a child. I worry enough about Rose and you, without the added responsibility of a young, curious child too."

Jack nodded. He got that. "But what about marriage? Why not that?"

The Doctor shook his head, not answering.

"Doctor?" Jack prompted,

"Just leave it, Jack," he sighed, closing his eyes,

"No, I will not 'just leave it'!" Jack stormed, "We've got a girl down the corridor, whose heart is shattered as a result of you, so I think you owe it to me and to her to explain your reasoning,"

"Fine!" the Doctor yelled, "I'm scared, OK? I'm absolutely terrified of committing to her through marriage because one day I'm gonna lose her and I'm not gonna be able to live anymore. She's gonna die and I'm gonna have to live on by myself, alone for I don't know how long and I won't be able to cope! I've let her get too close to me; I've given her everything and as a result, it's gonna break me when she's gone. But I love her too much to let her go! Don't you see, Jack?"

"Well, why don't you tell her that?!" Jack retorted, "'Cause right now, she thinks you hate her,"

"I would if she'd let me!" the Doctor replied, running a hand through his hair, "I've tried!"

"Well, try again!" Jack said strongly, "When have you ever given up on something, Doctor?"

He sighed. "I'm going to give her some space tonight," he decided after a moment, "Let her cool down and then I'll try again in the morning."

Jack nodded. "I'm going to see her now," he told his friend quietly, "I promised her I would and then I'll go to bed so I'll see you in the morning, Doctor,"

"Night, Jack," the Time Lord said, distractedly. He was in for a long, painful night.

Jack nodded and left the room, walking quietly down the corridors until he reached Rose's room. He tapped gently on the door before opening it. "Rose?"

There was no reply and as Jack pushed the door further open, a ray of light from the corridor shone onto her face, showing that she was fast asleep; tears tracks still visible on her face. She must have cried herself to sleep. Jack's heart clenched painfully as he turned out the light.

"Sweet dreams, honey," he whispered, before leaving.

He'd try again in the morning too.

* * *

When Rose woke up the next morning, it took a moment for her to remember everything that had happened. The first couple of moments were bliss before all her troubles crashed down on her shoulders again. Her eyes were sore and puffy from the amount of crying she'd been doing last night.

Unwilling to greet the day just yet, Rose hid back under the cover, feeling strangely alone. It had been a long time since she'd woken up alone in bed. She briefly wondered if the Doctor had actually slept last night. She had been surprised that she had, to be honest. Letting out a sigh, she nibbled on her lip. She remembered having a nice dream last night where the Doctor had sat on the bed next to her while she slept and taken her hand in his, whispering how sorry he was and how guilty he felt and to read the letter, before he'd left, leaving a soft kiss on her forehead. But it was just a dream. He'd not been here, there was no letter and he certainly hadn't kissed her. He wouldn't. Not now.

Biting her lip firmly to stop herself crying, Rose tumbled out of bed and went to get ready, ignoring all of the Doctor's things that were scattered around their shared bathroom. She winced at her tearstained face before applying a layer of make-up to make her look and feel better. Then, she took a deep breath and left the bedroom, heading for the kitchen for some food and praying that the Doctor wasn't there. Luckily he wasn't. Only Jack was there, sitting at the table and munching on some toast. As soon as he saw her, he held out an arm and pulled her into him, hugging her tightly and letting her know without words that he was there for her. Rose screwed her face up where it was buried in Jack's neck, struggling not to cry again.

"I'm sorry I was so bitchy to you yesterday," she whispered eventually, "I didn't mean it. I don't know what's up with me lately,"

"It's OK," her best friend assured her, "You're probably just stressed out from what's being going on lately."

Rose nodded slowly, reaching out for some toast. "What's he been like?" she asked,

"Gutted," Jack said honestly, "Rose, won't you talk to him?"

"No," she said straight away, "I don't even want to see him,"

"Rose…"

"Jack, no," she said firmly, "I don't want to talk about it, OK? I just want to get on with our day."

Jack nodded silently. She'd put up her shield again; something she always did when she was emotionally insecure or worried. It was something that she'd picked up from spending so much time with the Doctor. It had been a very long time since she'd put it up in the TARDIS.

Rose smiled weakly at him before resting her head against his shoulder and continuing her breakfast.

Just then, the atmosphere turned tense as the Doctor appeared in the doorway, looking tired and withdrawn. He looked directly at Rose, with hope in his eyes but it soon diminished at her frosty gaze. His face drooped; disappointment and distress very prominent on it.

"Rose?" he said softly.

Rose put her toast down and walked past him and out of the room, her head held high.

"Rose, listen to me," he urged, chasing after her down the corridor.

She kept on walking, not looking back and seemingly strong and in control but the Doctor knew better from the tell-tale signs of her tensed shoulders and trembling hands.

"Please, Rose," he begged, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder,

"Get off me!" she yelled, whipping around suddenly,

"Well, let me explain!" the Doctor said, exasperatedly,

"Just leave me alone, Doctor!"

"Not until you hear me out!" he said, firmly holding onto her wrist, "I'm sorry, Rose. I'm so sorry. It came out wrong and you've got to understand my reasons. If you just read the…"

"Shut up!" Rose screamed, interrupting him, "Don't say anything! I don't want to be hurt anymore…"

The Doctor felt his hearts break once again at the look of pure misery on her face. "Rose…" he began again in a choked voice but she wrenched her arm out of his loosened grasp.

"Please leave me alone, Doctor," she whispered, tears in her eyes before she ran off down the corridor and out of sight.

The Doctor wiped his eyes furiously as he sank down onto the corridor floor, his head in his hands. What was he going to do now?

* * *

_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received.**_


	7. Making Up & Breaking Up

**Domestics and Divisions**

_**Thanks for the reviews. Here's the next chapter. Um… well, I **__**hope **__**you enjoy it…**_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing that you might recognise belongs to me.**_

* * *

**Part 7: Making Up & Breaking Up**

Rose picked up her mobile and checked the screen. Seven missed calls, all from Kirsty. She sighed. She didn't have the energy to ring her back. She was probably panicking over some little detail to do with the wedding and right now, Rose didn't even want to think about marriage.

It had now been two days since her whole world had come crashing down on her. She'd hardly spoken to the Doctor and rarely to Jack. He'd tried his best to patch things up between the lovers but Rose was too stubborn. But she missed the Doctor. All she wanted was to be held tightly by him but her pride was getting in the way of that.

"Hey," said a voice quietly.

She looked up to see Jack standing at the kitchen door.

"You alright, honey?" he asked.

Rose shrugged, standing up and falling into his arms. Jack was a great cuddler. Not as good as the Doctor, of course, but she still felt better.

"I want to go home, Jack," she whispered,

Jack held her tighter, his heart constricting at the pain in her voice. "Please try and talk to the Doctor, honey," he pleaded, sighing when she shook her head.

"Will you take me home?" she asked quietly, "I want my Mum. It's too awkward here."

Jack sighed. He knew none of them were enjoying their break on Mark Three, which was a shame. "Only as long as your promise to talk to the Doctor as soon as possible when we're back on Earth. You can't go on like this, Rose. It's killing you, it's killing the Doctor and it's killing me."

Rose closed her eyes, the guilt eating at her. "OK," she whispered,

"Good," Jack replied, breathing a sigh of relief, "And you can also stand up for me when the Doctor lays in to me for flying the TARDIS without permission or supervision."

Rose nodded again, not even raising a smile, and walked with him to the empty control room. She didn't know where the Doctor was. He hadn't been to their bedroom since the beginning of it all and he was rarely in the control room, which was odd. Rose sat down on the captain's chair and watched as her best friend slowly activated the time ship. The familiar noise of the time rotor filled her ears as they entered the time vortex. About ten seconds later, there was a large bump that shook her bones, to signify they had landed.

"What's going on?" the Doctor suddenly demanded, appearing in the doorway to the interior of the ship, "Why have we moved?"

Rose didn't answer. She took one look at his worried face before running outside, praying Jack had got the co-ordinates correct. Luckily he had and she stared around the sunny courtyard through increasingly blurry eyes. Letting her feet take her, she soon found herself in her childhood home, snuggled up on the sofa with a hot cup of tea in her hands and the sympathetic ear of her mother as she poured her heart out, explaining what had happened.

"So, he won't even speak to you?" Jackie questioned, once her daughter had finished.

Rose shook her head. "No, it's me," she explained, wiping her eyes, "He tried right after but I told him to leave me alone and he's not tried since. I think I've lost him, Mum!"

"Now, don't be silly," her mother said, hugging her, "You haven't lost him. He's completely devoted to you. He's probably just trying to give you time to sort yourself out and then he's probably hoping you'll go to him and talk. And I really think you need to, sweetheart, or you really might lose him."

Rose swallowed heavily. "Jack's been trying to get me to go talk to him," she admitted,

"And he's right," her mother confirmed, "I know you two can sort this out. Your relationship is more than strong enough. He might have hurt you but I know the Doctor and he always has a good reason for things."

Rose nodded, knowing her mother was right. She stood up and walked over to a mirror, examining her red face and cringing. As she made to turn back around, her eyes caught on the calendar. She let out a startled gasp.

"Mum… what's the date?"

"July the eighth," Jackie replied. She'd been expecting this question. "You've come back a bit late,"

"Oh no!" Rose wailed, "Kirsty's getting married next week! We didn't mean to be back so late. I can't believe we've been gone nearly two months!"

Jackie gave a sad smile. "Kirsty's been trying to ring you but you never picked up and there's also the…"

"I better go and see her," Rose interrupted, "I'll see you later, Mum."

Jackie nodded and watched her daughter run out of the flat, rummaging in her pocket for her mobile phone. She gave a sigh. She felt so sorry that things were going wrong for Rose and the Doctor. Just seeing them happy made her feel happy and hopeful that there was someone else out there for her, who'd love her as much as Pete had. She missed Pete so much and would do anything to see him again. But it would never happen. How could it?

Wiping away a lone tear, Jackie picked up her keys and left the flat. She needed to speak to the Doctor.

* * *

Rose pounded into the park where she had arranged to meet her three best friends from college, about fifteen minutes later. She looked around, shading her eyes from the sun and spotted them reclining underneath a tree. 

"Rose! There you are!" Kirsty shouted as Rose ran over, "I've been trying to get hold of you for ages. Those gh… Rose, what's wrong?"

Rose wiped her eyes and fell onto the grass next to them. "Me and the Doctor have had a massive argument and we've not been speaking for two days,"

"Oh no!" Lauren said, scrambling over to give her a hug. Matt, too, looked concerned. "What about?" he asked,

"I told him," she said simply,

"And he didn't take it well?" Kirsty asked, gently.

Rose shook her head, a single tear falling down her cheek. "He said no to both. He won't marry me or have a baby with me,"

"Oh, Rose," Kirsty said sadly, carefully joining Lauren in hugging her, "I'm so sorry. Did he say why?"

"Something about it being too dangerous," she replied in a whisper, "But if he really loved me, then he'd say yes surely?"

Matt frowned. "Rose, I think it's clear to all three of us that the Doctor couldn't possibly love you anymore than he already does. Have you actually spoken to him about this and got him to explain his reasons 'cause it sounds like you don't really understand them."

Rose slowly shook her head. "He's tried," she admitted,

"But you won't listen?" Matt asked,

"He's hurt me, Matt," Rose defended herself,

"And you're really hurting _him_ now by not speaking to him!" Matt said strongly, his legal training shining through, "Why are you punishing him, Rose? You're supposed to love him but because he won't do something- of which his reasoning sounds perfectly justifiable to me- you're blanking him out. That's so shallow, Rose. I think you're being really selfish and cruel to him. You're my best friend and everything but seriously get a little perspective!"

Rose had gotten paler and paler while he was speaking. She knew he was right and she was being selfish and cruel. "I know!" she burst out, "But I can't help it! Something's wrong with me; my emotions are all over the place and I'm so worried about everything. I can' take it anymore!"

"So go and talk to him," Matt said, gentler now, "You know he'll listen even after the way you've treated him."

Rose nodded numbly. "OK," she whispered, thinking it was high time she did what everyone seemed to be urging her to do and go and speak to her lover.

Matt smiled and crawled forward to pull her into a hug. She hugged him back tightly, taking in a deep breath before moving backwards, ready for a new start with the Doctor. She suddenly let out hiss and bit her lip. "Sorry," she muttered, "My breasts are feeling a bit… tender. Have been for a couple of days now."

Kirsty frowned suddenly, thinking hard and rest one hand on her expanding belly.

"Rose…" she said thoughtfully, "Is there any way you could possibly be pregnant?"

"What!?" Rose said, genuinely shocked, "No, I don't think so. We've always used protection as far as I can remember. Why?"

"Well, when I was first pregnant, my breasts were sore and my moods were all over the place and stuff," Kirsty explained, "Still are to be fair sometimes. Have you been sick in the mornings at all?"

Rose shook her head slowly.

"Had a period lately?"

"It's due in a couple of days," she stammered, "Kirsty, I can't be pregnant; there's no way!"

"You probably aren't. It's just a suggestion," her friend tried to reassure her,

"What if you were?" Matt asked curiously, returning to the conversation now they had stopped mentioning periods and breasts.

Rose chewed on her lip. "I don't know," she answered in a small voice, "I know I want a baby but with the Doctor's reaction…" She shook her head. "I better go and talk to him," she sighed, "I'll see you guys later,"

"And hopefully you'll have made up," Lauren said, hugging her goodbye, "Good luck."

Rose smiled before walking away towards the Powell Estate. She couldn't be pregnant! What would the Doctor say? She let out a heavy sigh, pushing the worry to the back of her mind. She'd go back to the TARDIS and have a sensible discussion with the Doctor, get him to explain things and she'd ask him to check her over to see if there was anything medically wrong with her. Pregnant? She snorted. No way.

* * *

About a quarter of an hour later, Rose slunk into the TARDIS nervously, her heart hammering harder as a result of the worry she was going through that something was wrong with her and also due to the apprehension of how the Doctor was going to react to her. During the walk back, her mind had overreacted, making her think that she had all sorts of life threatening things. She immediately saw the Doctor standing at the console, mindlessly playing with the controls, or so it seemed to her. She took a deep breath and walked over to his side, staring down at all the buttons and levers. 

"Doctor?" she said, her quiet voice sounding extraordinary loud in the silent room,

"Jack's gone," he announced abruptly,

"Gone? Where?" Rose asked, shocked,

"Cardiff. To Torchwood Three," he replied, switching a button, "He received an urgent call from Ianto. Apparently there's some unusual rift activity going on up there so he's gone to investigate. I gave him a lift earlier but obviously you didn't notice we'd gone,"

"Oh," Rose replied, "When's he coming back?"

"As soon as they've worked out what's going on. I hope it's nothing to do with the sphere and the Master," the Doctor shuddered, "He said to tell you goodbye and to remind you that he still expects you to keep good on your promise even though he's not here."

Rose nodded silently. "Why didn't you call me and then we all go and investigate together?"

"Well," her lover replied, drawing out the single syllable, "Firstly, we thought you needed to be here for Kirsty's wedding preparations and also Jack thought we needed some alone time and he could handle it on his own."

"Oh," Rose said quietly before pausing. A tense silence ensued. Rose gritted her teeth. She hated this! "Doctor?" she whispered, her voice choked,

"What is it?" he answered.

She slowly looked up to see him looking at her questioningly.

"I… I think there's something wrong with me," she stuttered out, "Something that's affecting my behaviour and my moods and making me act like I have been."

She looked down again shamefully, jerking slightly as the Doctor rested his cool hand on her forehead. She closed her eyes, leaning into the touch. Him touching any part of her was good.

"You don't seem to be burning up," he acknowledged after a moment,

"Will you check me out to make sure?" Rose asked, opening her eyes and seeing the concerned depths of his eyes,

"Of course I will," he nodded, "C'mon, let's go to the infirmary." He took her hand and led her down the corridors to the TARDIS' medical centre. "Climb up," he instructed, patting the bed.

Rose did as she was told and watched him worriedly as he bustled around, collecting various pieces of medical equipment. "Let me listen to your heart," he said, nodding at her top.

She pulled off her t-shirt, sitting there in just her bra and jeans, as he placed the business end of a stethoscope on her chest. "Sounds normal. It's beating fine," he concluded, "Blood pressure?" He checked that but found it to be fine. "How have you been feeling?" he questioned, "Any aches or pains?"

"No," Rose said honestly, "I've just been feeling tired and moody and stuff; kind of like when I'm on my period but that isn't due for a couple more days." She hesitated before continuing, "My breasts have been feeling a bit sore lately as well."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "May I?" he asked.

Rose nodded and unclipped her bra, feeling completely comfortable in her half naked state as the Doctor examined them closely.

"They look fine to me," the Doctor said finally, sounding perplexed, "I don't know, Rose. You seem to be healthy but there's obviously something making you feel bad 'cause you've not been acting like my Rose at all lately."

Rose's eyes filled with tears. "I know," she whispered, "I'm so scared something's really wrong with me!"

"Hey," the Doctor said gently, sitting down next to her on the bed, "You're probably fine. Your immune system's probably playing up a bit or something. Can I do a blood test to make sure?"

Rose tensed up. She hated blood tests and needles with a passion but she knew she had to have this one. She nodded her consent, biting down on her bottom lip.

The Doctor stood back up, collecting the apparatus he'd need, before moving in front of her. She moved into the position they had created for this task, with her holding her right arm out, and her left arm curled around his waist and her face hidden in his shoulder. Her lover was about to take some blood when he realised that she was clinging onto him a lot tighter than usual and her shoulders were gently shaking. He took a deep breath, curling his arms around her shoulders and pressing a kiss to her head. Could this be it? Was she about to finally talk to him about all of this?

"What's wrong with me, Doctor?" she whispered, wrapping her other arm around him as well. "Why am I being such a bitch lately?"

"I'll find out, sweetheart," he told her, "It's OK,"

"But it's not!" she cried out, her face still pressed to his shoulder so her voice came out muffled, "I'm being so horrible to you and I don't understand why. Matt just told me I'm being selfish and he's right and I'm treating you so badly but I just can't seem to stop it!"

"Hey," the Doctor said, cupping her chin in his hands and forcing her to look up at him, "Rose, baby, tell me your emotions."

She let out a shaky breath, not being able to tear her eyes away from his. "Worried, scared, sorry, guilty," she reeled off, feeling calmer as she fell into one of the routines she and the Doctor had developed over the past two years, "Tired, sad and… and in love. Tell me yours."

The Doctor smiled at her. "Concerned, happier, forgiving and in love."

Rose let out a sigh of relief and took one of his hands. "I'm sorry," she said, "I just… I just don't understand _why_."

The Doctor nodded. "Did you read the letter?"

"What letter?"

"The one I left on the desk the morning after the argument," he replied, comprehension suddenly dawning on his face, "You've not read it, have you? That's why we've been arguing for so long,"

"What's it say?" Rose whispered,

"It tells you why," the Doctor said simply, "C'mon, let's go and find it. It's probably easier if you read it." He turned away to put away the apparatus. When he faced Rose again, she had thrown her bra and t-shirt back on and was holding out her arms. The Doctor smiled and picked her up in his arms before slowly making his way down the corridor. He knew Rose was going to be clingy for a few days but who was he to complain?

He set her down gently on their bed, a few minutes later, and reached for the letter that was propped up on the desk that had been in their room ever since Rose took her A-Levels four years ago. He handed it nervously to Rose before sitting against the headboard on the bed.

Rose swallowed, looking at the folded over piece of paper that would hopefully explain everything. She looked at the Doctor for reassurance and clambered up the bed to sit between his legs, leaning against his chest. She let out a relaxed purr as he began to thread his fingers through her hair and massage her scalp and shoulders before unfolding the paper and beginning to read.

_Dear Rose, _she read in the Doctor's elegant handwriting,

_I'm writing this at the desk in our bedroom while you sleep in our bed. I can still see your tear tracks on your face and even in sleep, you have a saddened expression but you are still so beautiful, even in pain. My hearts are tearing themselves into pieces as it is I who put the pain there. I'm so sorry, my love. I never meant to hurt you so badly. You are my life and my reason for living it and it's killing me seeing you so upset. If I could take back my words, I would. They came out wrong. I should've explained things rather than just said no straight out. But I'm hoping I can use this letter to explain my side of things and then I hope to any of the deities I've ever come across, that you'll one day forgive me._

_Rose, you shocked me when you told me that you wanted to have a baby with me and marry me. I know you love me- or loved me- but I wasn't sure that you wanted that. In retrospect, it seems foolish to think that. We're both hopelessly in love with one another (and still are, I hope) so it would seem like the next natural step. Even on Gallifrey, when two people loved one another as much as we do, they joined together and reproduced. So, why can't I, I hear you screaming. Angel, you've got to understand that I want those things with you as much as you do. I long to call you my wife, to officially show you off to the universe as the one person I treasure above all others (don't tell Jack) and, as you reminded me earlier, I once said that having a child with you would make me feel over the moon. This is still true. I lied earlier. I've been alone for so very long, Rose, but a family with you would be fantastic. I would be the proudest Daddy in the world but I just can't do it; I can't risk it. The truth is; I'm scared, Rose. I'm scared that I'd do a terrible job in looking after a child and I'm absolutely petrified that some harm would come to them. Our life is no place for a child, sweetheart. I'm permanently worried that you or Jack will get seriously hurt or worse one day and that will destroy me. Imagine what the loss of our child would do to me- to us. I am so sorry about this, baby, but I've got to stick to my beliefs; no matter how much it's killing both of us._

_And why won't I marry you, I hear you ask? It's the same problem. I'm too scared. One day, you're going to be taken from me whether through old age or through an accident. You may even decide to leave me, and after the way I've treated you today I won't be surprised if you do. Please don't though, my angel. When we part, my life will effectively be over. I'll be dead inside. Never feel guilty for this, Rose. I realised when I came back for you all those years ago that I'd rather have loved and lost than never have loved at all and had a lifetime of regrets. I love you with both my hearts and then some but I have to be selfish just this once. I can't marry you. I need to keep something back from you. I know this is difficult to understand. I don't really even understand it myself and there's the argument that how is what we have now any different from being married? I don't know the answer to that either. I'm so confused inside. You make me confused, Rose. You're the only person who ever has been able to achieve this. Please just trust in me. Why do we need to get married anyway? It's just a bit of paper and a ring. Isn't true love about what's in our hearts and souls rather than such material things? I think so. But I'm rambling and running out of excuses so I'll finish now. It's going to be hard for a while after today but I know we can get through it together like always._

_Please forgive me, Rose. You're everything to me. Please, come and talk to me about this. Talk to me about anything. You're three metres away from me but I miss you. I'm truly lost without you, my beautiful Rose._

_All my love,_

_Your Doctor. _

As soon as Rose had finished reading, she buried her face in her knees and burst into tears. "I'm sorry," she gasped out, "I should've listened to you, not blanked you. I'm so sorry!"

The Doctor crawled to kneel in front of her and took her hands, "Do you understand why now?" he asked her gently.

She nodded. "I should've known you'd have a good reason. You always do. I don't know why I didn't think that before." Her eyes held a panicked look and the Doctor leant his forehead against hers, staring deep into her eyes. "I'm sorry I'm such a crap girlfriend," she whispered sadly,

"You're not crap," he told her, "Anything but. Everyone makes mistakes and this was a big thing to get upset over." He leant in and kissed her gently. "We're gonna be alright, baby. We'll find out what's causing your mood swings and sort it out together, OK?"

Rose nodded, wiping the last of her tears away and tentatively returning his smile. She still wasn't completely happy with it but at least understood why she couldn't have it. She hoped that maybe one day, as he wanted it too, she'd be able to change his mind and she'd get pregnant. Unless she already was. Rose blinked quickly, pushing Kirsty's suggestion back to the back of her mind. She couldn't be pregnant. There was absolutely no way. They'd always always used protection.

"That's my girl," the Doctor whispered, not noticing her inner turmoil. He carefully pushed her backwards onto the bed and pressed loving kisses over her face and neck, paying particular attention to the spots that he knew made her squirm. Rose closed her eyes, letting her worries be kissed away.

Suddenly, the TARDIS telephone began ringing in the control room, the sound amplified by the TARDIS. The Doctor looked curiously at Rose before helping her up and making their way to the main room.

"Hello?" the Doctor said, "Oh, Jack… wait, say that again…"

Rose watched his facial expressions change rapidly as she stood next to him, tightly clutching his hand. She was glad they had made up. "Doctor, what's wrong?" she asked, once he'd finished on the conversation,

"Cardiff's being overrun by a giant creature called Abaddon," he explained quickly, "Jack says it came out of the rift and it's killing people simply by having its shadow fall on them. We've got to get over there and help but you must promise me to stay indoors, Rose. I can't lose you."

Rose stared up at him silently but was saved having to answer by a furious pounding on the door. She exchanged a glance with the Doctor before beginning to make her way over. Before she reached it, however, the exterior door somehow burst open to Jackie looking panicked as she rushed in. The sound of symmetrical marching metal feet came floating in from outside, sending shivers down Rose's spine.

"What's wrong?" the Doctor asked Jackie.

"The ghosts!" she squealed in fright, "They've turned into metal men and they're killin' everyone!"

The Doctor turned the whitest shade of pale as he rushed to the door. "It's Cybers," he said quietly, not being able to believe his eyes. Rose swallowed and reached for his hand. Cybermen held bad memories for her.

"Jackie, tell me quickly, what ghosts?" the Doctor said urgently,

"Them ones that first appeared when you were here last!" she said, in a panic, "They came back a few days after you'd gone. We tried calling you but no-one ever picked up!"

The Doctor swore. "Torchwood must have continued once they'd known we'd left,"

"What are we going to do?" Rose asked him, squeezing his hand.

The Doctor's face was scarily blank as he looked at her. "We're going back to Torchwood."

* * *

Hours later, the Doctor walked slowly into the TARDIS, his head down and his body screaming out his despair. He'd lost them both. Jack was dead. Ianto had told him that he'd sacrificed himself to Abaddon. It had destroyed the beast but had killed the ex-Time Agent in the process; completely it seemed. The Doctor had seen Jack's body. It was cold, pale and lifeless and it had been hours since it had happened. It seemed that Jack wasn't immortal after all. He was dead. 

And Rose, his precious Rose… The Doctor closed his eyes tightly, the image of her screaming as the rift sucked her inwards plaguing him. Luckily, Pete Tyler, her alternate world father, had appeared just in time and taken her back to his world. But she was gone. Torn from the Doctor's arms. He couldn't get to the parallel world. It was impossible. She'd really gone and he'd never see her again; never hold her close again; never see her smiling lovingly at him again; never kiss her red, full lips again; never make the sweetest love to her again…

It was too much. Letting out a broken scream of despair that would have sent shivers down the spines of people if there had been anyone to hear it, the Doctor dropped to his knees, tears flooding down his cheeks, his fists pounding the grated floor beneath him.

He'd lost her. He'd lost his Rose Tyler and he was alone. The last Time Lord was alone once more.

* * *

**_Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received._**


	8. Three Years Later

**Domestics and Divisions**

_**Thanks for the reviews and thanks for not killing me. Sorry it's taken two weeks but my PC had a virus and wouldn't start and then I had (and still have) loads of work to do… Hope you enjoy,**_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing that you might recognise belongs to me.**_

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**Part 8: Three Years Later**

The alarm clock rang, signifying half past six in the morning.

Rose groaned, slammed her hand down on the top of it to switch it off and then rolled over, pulling her pillow over her head and once again sensing the feeling of loneliness swirl in the pit of her stomach as she had every morning she'd woken up in the past three years since it had happened.

It was the start of a brand new week in the parallel world and Rose had to go to work. Great.

Right on cue, the wailing of a two and a half year old started up in the next room. Rose groaned again.

"I'm coming, Jonny," she muttered, throwing back the cover and shivering as the cold morning air met her skin. She'd forgotten to turn the central heating on again. Fantastic.

Plucking her slippers from somewhere underneath her bed, and reaching for her woollen dressing gown off the back of a nearby chair, Rose shuffled into the next room, yawning and stretching as she did so.

"Morning, sweetheart," she greeted the young boy in front of her, "Welcome to a new day." She picked Jonny up, who cuddled into her side, his tears instantly disappearing at the sight of his mother. From the outside, he looked like a regular two year old toddler, with silky blonde hair that had a few darker patches in it, and gorgeous chocolate brown eyes, which always reminded Rose of the man she had loved and lost. But on the inside, Jonny wasn't a regular young boy. He had two hearts for one thing; something which had terrified his mother when he was born. Luckily, due to the intervention of Pete, it had been put down as a rare abnormality. The doctors and nurses, after their initial shock, didn't seem too worried. Both hearts functioned normally and Jonny was as healthy as he could be.

Rose had discovered another of his oddities only a few months earlier. She and Mickey had taken Jonny swimming in the local pool. About three quarters of an hour into their session, when Mickey had disappeared somewhere to flirt with a girl, Rose had accidentally dropped her locker key and had quickly dived down to get it, leaving Jonny floating on the raft. She had had a bit of a problem managing to pick it up and when she had reached the surface, it was to discover Jonny face down in the water. Rose had panicked for a minute and picked him up before discovering he was fine. He wasn't even gasping for breath or appeared frightened at all. She had puzzled over it for ages afterwards and still didn't have a definite answer but finally concluded that Jonny must have had what his father, the Doctor, had, which enabled him to rescue her from a smoke filled club on her twenty third birthday. That had been nearly seven years ago now. Rose let out an involuntary shiver. She'd been so happy back then…

Shaking her head, Rose turned her attention back to her son who was happily sucking on his thumb. Jonny was very close to his mother and only really seemed happy when she was around. She was able to calm him down in a way that had many of the other mothers at the preschool Jonny went to, marvel at. They couldn't believe how quickly he'd stop crying when she held him. It was yet another thing that Rose didn't understand but assumed it was some Time Lord-y trick that the Doctor had never mentioned. Not that he'd had any reason to.

"Mummy?" Jonny said, removing his thumb, "Need wee wee."

Rose smiled. "C'mon then. Let's go get ready. You've got a fun day at preschool with Alex, Tommy and Lizzie ahead of you and tonight we've got to go to Nanny and Grandpa's house 'cause its Uncle Mickey's birthday,"

"Uncle Mickey silly," Jonny nodded, causing Rose to bite her lip to stop her giggles. He definitely was his father's son. Not that his father knew about him.

Rose had discovered that she was pregnant about one month after she'd arrived in the parallel world. It had been four weeks of complete and utter hell. She'd barely stopped crying. Her heart and soul had been ripped out and felt like they were trapped in her universe with her Doctor. She hadn't been able to believe she'd been torn from the love of her life and might never see him again. It had been too much to bear and one night, which her mother would never forget, she'd tried to commit suicide- the pain of separation being too much to bear. Luckily- although Rose didn't think so until a while later- Jackie and Pete had discovered her before she'd lost consciousness after her overdose and managed to get her to a hospital on time. The weeks after that had been painful for all members of the new family but after several long days, a couple of arguments and numerous tears, Jackie had gotten through to her daughter, with the only way she knew how. She'd told Rose that the Doctor wouldn't have wanted her to hurt herself; he'd have wanted her to have a fantastic life. Rose had gone away silently and spent the night thinking and weeping but it had worked. She'd decided to try and live for the Doctor.

The news that she was pregnant only made her more determined to live, especially if she had part of the Doctor to nurture now. At first, she'd been terrified…

_"I can't have this baby, Mum!" Rose cried, "The Doctor said he didn't want children! He'd be so angry!"_

"_Now, don't be silly!" her mother had said immediately, "He'd be over the moon and you know that. It doesn't matter what he said before. One look at the face of your newborn child and all your old worries melt away."_

_Rose had wiped her eyes before placing one hand on her slightly rounded stomach. "I might never find out what his reaction would be," she'd said with a sob, the ache inside her intensifying, "But I'm going to have this child, Mum. Then at least I'll always have a part of him."_

_Her mother had nodded and kissed her on the forehead before holding her tightly as she wept…_

She'd been almost three months along when the whisper from the Doctor had come, drawing her and her family to a cold, windswept beach in Norway, where her heart had been mended and broken again in the space of five minutes.

_Rose kept on swallowing down her tears as she waited for the Doctor. She didn't know what he was going to say or how he was even going to get there. Was he coming to take her home or to say goodbye? Was he going to be there physically or would it just be his voice?_

_When at last, his image appeared; she walked slowly over to him, blinking back her tears._

"_Where are you?" she asked,_

"_Inside the TARDIS," he replied quietly, "There's one tiny gap in the universe left. Just about to close. And it takes a lot of power to send this projection. I'm in orbit around a supernova. I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye."_

_Rose let a tear run down her cheek. "Goodbye?" she squeaked._

_The Doctor nodded painfully, tears in his own eyes._

_Rose swallowed. She had to stay brave. __"You look like a ghost," she whispered,_

_The Doctor frowned, __"Hold on." He did something with the sonic screwdriver and suddenly it looked like he was physically there. Rose stepped forward, one hand raised._

"_Can I touch…"_

_He shook his head. "__I'm still just an image. No touch."_

_Something snapped inside of Rose. "I need you to hold me and tell me it's gonna be alright," she whimpered,_

"_I'll always be holding you, baby," the Doctor replied, "Just close your eyes whenever you feel alone or upset and I'll be there."_

_Rose nodded, closing her eyes for a second before reopening them. "Can't you come through properly?"_

_Her lover shook his head. __"The whole thing would fracture. Two universes would collapse,"_

"_So?" Rose asked, a sob entering her voice._

_The Doctor smiled sadly. "You know I would if I could, angel."_

_She nodded, another tear escaping the corner of her eye._

"_You've still got Mr. Mickey then," he said, looking over her shoulder._

_Rose nodded, glad for the change of conversation. "He's been brilliant. At least that's one good thing of coming here." She took a deep breath. She had to tell him. "There's five of us now. Mum, Dad, Mickey… and the baby,"_

"_You're not…"_

_Rose studied his eyes, seeing a mixture of hope and fear in them. No, she couldn't do it to him. "No. It's Mums," she invented quickly, hating to lie to him, "Three months gone. More Tyler's on the way,"_

_She saw equal measures of relief and disappointment enter his eyes. _

"_But what about you?__" he asked after a moment. "Are you…"_

"_Yeah, I'm back working at the shop," Rose kidded, praying to see a smile on his face._

_He didn't disappoint. "Ah, good for you,"_

"_Shut up," she smiled sadly, "Nah, I'm not. The Torchwood on this planet; it's open for business. Think I know a thing or two about aliens."_

_A look of immense pride appeared on the Doctor's face. "Rose Tyler. Defender of the Earth," he stated, "I'm so proud of you, Rose."_

_She nodded, her eyes welling up. She wanted to be in his arms as he whispered that he was proud of her; not stuck on a cold beach, a whole universe away from him._

"_You're dead officially back home," the Doctor stated quickly, " So many people died that day and you'd gone missing. You're on the list of the dead. But here you are, living a life day after day,"_

"_Can you tell Kirsty and the others?" Rose whispered shakily, "Tell them I miss them and love them."_

_The Doctor nodded. "Consider it done."_

_Rose smiled through her tears before a sob erupted out of her. "Am I ever going to see you again?"_

_He sighed. "I don't know, Rose. I'm searching and I'll never give up searching to get you back but I might never find a way,"_

"_But I need you," she wept, "I can't go on alone. I need you by my side to support me and love me. I can't do it on my own,"_

"_Yes, you can," the Doctor urged, "You can do anything, Rose Tyler. I know you can. You can do this,"_

"_What if I can't?" Rose cried, "I've had five years with you holding me up and I'm just falling over now. It sounds pathetic but it's true,"_

"_I'm falling over too," the Doctor admitted, a tear rolling down his cheek, "But I believe in both of us. I'll find a way, my love. I'll find you again, I promise."_

_Rose wiped her eyes. "You can't promise me that, Doctor," she whispered, "But I'll always wait for you."_

_The Doctor nodded. "Live a fantastic life, Rose. Do that for me,"_

"_I will," she sobbed, "And you make sure Jack stays with you. I don't want you to be lonely."_

_Something flickered over the Doctor's face, too fast for Rose to catch._

"_Will you tell him I love him?" she requested._

_He nodded slowly._

_Rose let out another sob but forced a watery smile onto her face. "I love you, Doctor. I'll never stop. I'll still be in love with you when you find me again."_

_He smiled back, looking lovingly at her. "I love you too, Rose. You're in my hearts forever. I will see you again,"_

"_You better." Rose joked weakly._

_He grinned at her; the grin that always made her knees buckle but then she blinked and he was gone. She was on her own again. _

Rose brushed away her tears. She hated thinking back to the last time she'd seen him. He still hadn't found a way through yet but she never gave up hoping.

A knock at the front door aroused Rose from her thoughts. She hoisted Jonny onto her hip after quickly finishing dressing him before going to answer it.

"Hey, Micks," she greeted her ex-boyfriend warmly,

"Hi," he smiled back, "Morning, champ," he said to Jonny, tickling him and making him squeal.

Rose laughed and handed her son over. "Can you watch him while I finish getting ready?" she requested, "I'm a bit late this morning,"

"No worries," Mickey said easily, "Pete won't mind if we're a bit late. He never does."

Rose grinned. That was one of the perks of being the head of Torchwood's daughter. Well, sort of daughter. But both Rose and Pete had taken to one another in a big way and now thought of the other as their dad or daughter. Pete had been there for Rose while she was still grieving. It had helped her to have someone to talk to who didn't really know her. Jackie, of course, knew her and the Doctor inside out, and Mickey knew enough, but sometimes Rose needed someone to discuss things with who hadn't been involved.

"I won't be long. Help yourself to breakfast," she told Mickey before disappearing up the stairs.

She was so glad to have Mickey back in her life. She'd missed him so much but hadn't realised it until she'd been reunited with him. In the first couple of weeks, he'd let her know he was there for her but it had been a long time since they'd seen one another and they'd both changed so much. As a result, it had been a little awkward at first. But one evening, a few days after their return from Norway, Rose had been sitting on a sofa in the lounge, staring into the fire when he'd come in. He'd sat down next to her and suddenly; she'd thrown her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. They'd begun to talk and catch up and as the hours slipped by, Rose had told him the whole story of her and the Doctor. He'd laughed with her in the funny bits and cried with her in the sad bits and generally just let her talk herself out. She'd fallen asleep on him that night and ever since then, they'd become close friends again. Mickey was someone Rose knew she could rely on in this crazy new world.

Ten minutes later, Rose came down to discover Jonny giggling as Mickey made faces at him. She smiled. Mickey was brilliant with kids. He was going to make a fantastic Dad one day.

"How's Emily doing?" she asked of his current girlfriend, as she stirred the porridge that Mickey had helpfully began to cook for her and chopped up a banana for Jonny,

"She's great," Mickey smiled, "She's coming tonight. I asked Jackie and its all fine,"

"Great," Rose said, "Can't wait to see her again."

Mickey grinned. "Just got to get through a full day at work first. Won't that be fun?"

* * *

Unsurprisingly, it wasn't.

Rose enjoyed her work at Torchwood but sometimes the paperwork was so dull. It also got a bit boring when there were weeks between alien sightings or mysterious occurrences. Anyway how could anything be deemed exciting after travelling with the Doctor for nearly seven years in total?

Rose signed the report that she'd been writing with flourish before putting it in her drawer to deal with in the morning. It was nearly five o'clock and she had to hurry to her parent's house to pick up Jonny and get ready for Mickey's dinner party.

"See you tomorrow, Sandra," she called to one of her co-workers as she picked up her bag and made for the door,

"Yeah, see you, Rose," Sandra called back, "Have a nice time tonight,"

"Will do," Rose grinned before walking away.

She'd only gone twelve steps or so when she caught sight of a young man running towards her.

"Miss. Tyler," he panted, "Mr. Tyler asked me to fetch you immediately. A strange woman's been found in one of the offices downstairs with no apparent knowledge of how she got there."

Rose frowned. Why did Pete want her to deal with this when he knew full well she had to get home? So did he, for that matter.

"She says her name is Gwen Cooper and she's from Torchwood Three," the man hurried to say, "But that doesn't exist! Mr. Tyler told me to tell you that it's possible that…" He gave a puzzled frown, "That it's possible that she's from an alternate Earth..."

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_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received.**_


	9. Gwen

**Domestics and Divisions**

_**I know. I get the lousy author award. Sorry; real life took over these past two weeks what with visits home and deadlines and writer's block. But it's here now and hopefully, I'll get the next chapter up next weekend! Thanks for the reviews for last chapter and hope you enjoy this one. **_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing that you might recognise belongs to me.**_

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**Part ****9: Gwen**

Rose hurried as fast as she could down the long corridors of Torchwood. The words 'alternate Earth' ringing in her ears. It couldn't be. There was no way. It was entirely impossible. She shouldn't get her hopes up. But all the same, a tiny flame of hope had ignited in her heart. What if it was true?

She skidded around the corner and arrived outside of the room that the aide had told her to come to. Her father, Pete, was waiting just outside of the door, a grim look on his face.

"Dad?" she asked hopefully.

Pete shrugged and put his arm around her shoulders, steering her away into a side office. He knew what this could mean to his daughter.

"Don't get your hopes up, Rose," he gently cautioned her, "But she is saying she's not from this Earth. She took one look outside of the window and seemed confused about the airships,"

"What if she is from my Earth, Dad?" Rose asked quietly, "It would mean there's a way back home for me. A way back to the Doctor."

Pete embraced her. "I'll keep everything crossed for you, sweetheart," he told her, "I think it would be best if you went and spoke to her. She's in the next room. I'll come in and oversee of course."

Rose nodded. "Thanks," she whispered before leading the way out of the room. She took a deep breath, before entering the next room to see a thin woman of medium height with short brown hair. She looked vaguely recognisable.

"Gwen Cooper?" Rose asked, moving over and shaking her hand, "I'm Rose Tyler. I work here,"

"Hello," Gwen said, somewhat nervously.

Rose noted the Welsh accent. She'd always had a special fondness for it since she started travelling with the Doctor.

"Where am I?" Gwen questioned, "I've asked but no-one seems to tell me anything,"

"You're in London, Earth." Rose said quietly,

"But what's with all the airships?" Gwen asked, gesturing out of the window, "And what am I doing in London? Last thing I remember I was in the base in Cardiff examining this artefact…" She held up a round metal contraption, "…and then suddenly I was here. I'd experienced some weird things with Torchwood but this tops them all,"

"Wait, you work for Torchwood?" Rose asked, startled,

"Yeah. Torchwood three in Cardiff," Gwen answered slowly, "Is this the London branch? I thought it was still shut down after the Battle of Canary Wharf."

Rose's mouth went very dry. Now, she knew where she'd seen Gwen before. "What was the Battle of Canary Wharf?" she enquired, just to make sure although she had an inkling.

Gwen looked at her like she was mad. "When the Cybermen invaded five years ago," she said, "The battle centred in Canary Wharf. Surely you remember?"

Rose nodded slowly. Oh, she remembered all too well. "Gwen," she said in a croaky voice, "You're on a parallel world but you're from my Earth; oh God, you're from my home!"

Gwen just looked at her oddly. "What do you mean I'm on a parallel world?"

"Just imagine that there are a whole set of universes, all containing similar aspects," Pete intervened, seeing that Rose wasn't able to speak right at that moment, "All of them have a planet Earth in them but there are differences between the Earths. Maybe their traffic lights are red, amber and green rather than black, white and blue or maybe they had airships in the skies…"

Gwen's mouth opened. "So, you're saying that somehow I've ended up on a different Earth to my own?"

"Yeah," Rose whispered, "And I'm pretty certain that you're from my Earth." She took a deep breath. "I'm trapped here. I fell through a hole in the universe three years ago, leaving my lover and my best friend behind." She blinked back her tears. "I've been unable to get back but now you've got through… there might be a chance,"

"I'm sorry," Gwen replied quietly, her heart aching at the pain on the other woman's face, "I don't know how I got here. Like I said, I was just messing with this, trying to work out what it was and somehow I ended up here."

Rose stood up and took the object she held out. It was dark in colour, small and round with ridges on each side.

"We don't know what it is," Gwen said, "It's been puzzling us for weeks. God knows Jack's been fiddling with it enough and if he doesn't know what it does, then nobody will."

Rose nodded, not really paying much attention as she stared at the contraption. Could this be the key back to her Doctor?

"Rose?"

Pete's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"We need to get going, Rose," he continued once he had her attention, "The party…"

Rose nodded. "You go on ahead, Dad. Tell them I'm coming,"

"Your mother won't like it," he warned,

"She'll understand," Rose shrugged, "I won't be long."

Her father sighed and nodded. "Be quick. It's already late,"

"OK," she agreed as he swept out of the room. She turned to look at Gwen. "Sorry. It's my friend's birthday tonight and we're having a meal at our house,"

"I don't mean to keep you…" Gwen said awkwardly,

"Its fine," Rose dismissed, placing the object on the desk in front of her, "So, you said you're from Torchwood Three in Cardiff?"

"Yeah," Gwen nodded uncertainly, "Apparently on a parallel world." She stopped suddenly. "Am I ever going to be able to get home?"

Rose smiled sadly. "For both of our sakes, Gwen, I hope so."

Gwen nodded slowly. "They'll be wondering where I've gone," she whispered, "I'll just have disappeared right in front of their eyes… Oh God, Rhys…"

"Who's Rhys?" Rose prompted gently, knowing first hand how difficult it was to talk about people you've lost,

"My boyfriend," Gwen smiled; deep sadness on her face, "He's gorgeous. What if I never see him again?"

"Gwen," Rose said, quickly getting up and hugging her, "You will see him again. I'll make sure of it. We're both gonna see our guys again."

Gwen smiled. "Who'd you lose?" she asked carefully,

"The Doctor," she sighed, "I met him after he saved my life and we travelled around for a couple of years. Then he thought it was too dangerous for me and left me back at home for a year. I was so furious with him." She smiled sadly in remembrance. "But then he came back for me and we admitted we were in love and we'd been together for five years before we got split up. That was three years ago now,"

"I'm sorry," Gwen said sympathetically, "I hope you can get back to him,"

"Me too," Rose smiled sadly, "My baby's never met his Daddy."

Shock was clear on Gwen's face. ""You had a child with this man?"

Rose nodded, not really understanding why she was telling all this to an almost complete stranger. "I was pregnant when I got trapped. I just didn't know it yet. In retrospect, I should have. I was crazy back then; my emotions were all over the place. One of my friends was pregnant at the same time and she told me I could be but I didn't think there was any chance." She shrugged. "Anyway, I better get back to him- that's Jonny, my little boy." She thought for a moment. "It's probably best if you come back with me. The holding cells here aren't the nicest of places and it's not like you've done anything wrong."

Gwen smiled gratefully. "Thanks. If your cells are anything like ours, I'll be glad not to have to stay there."

Rose grinned back. "You're gonna have to tell me more about your Torchwood but first let's go home."

* * *

"Rose, you shouldn't have brought her home!" Pete said sternly, "She should've stayed in the cells while we check her over. You could get into trouble for this."

Rose sighed. It was an hour later and after Rose had sorted Jonny and Gwen out, Pete had taken her aside to speak to her.

"I know, Dad. I'm sorry. I just didn't want to leave her there on her own." She shuffled around awkwardly. "Plus if she's my route back to the Doctor, then I want to keep her around. I can't lose this chance, Dad, I just can't!"

"I know, sweetheart," Pete sighed, wrapping his adoptive daughter in a hug, "Look, tomorrow I want you to stay off work and talk to Gwen here and try and work things out. See how she got here, alright?"

"Yeah, Dad," Rose promised with a smile, "Thanks,"

"You're welcome. Now, I think a certain birthday boy's waiting for his presents," Pete grinned.

Rose giggled. "Can't keep Mickey waiting any longer. Let's go."

* * *

Rose spent the rest of the evening celebrating Mickey's birthday with him, his girlfriend, her family and Gwen. The Welsh woman was very quiet and only joined in things if she was pushed but Rose understood. She knew how confusing it was to suddenly end up in a world that looked almost exactly the same as your own but it was completely different.

The next morning, after everyone had groaned their way through their hangovers and crawled their way to work or wherever they were going, Rose sat down in the deserted lounge with Gwen. They chattered idly for a while before Rose decided to get down to business.

"So, tell me exactly what happened before you got transported here," she requested.

Gwen frowned as she thought. "I'd finished my work up and Jack asked me to have a look at that object," she said, nodding towards the contraption that lay on the coffee table in front of them, "Oh, Jack's my boss, by the way. He's the head of Torchwood three and he's gorgeous. Bit of a mysterious guy to be honest but we all like him, even Owen,"

"Why's he mysterious?" Rose asked, sighing internally. She missed her Jack,

"Well, it's kind of odd really," Gwen replied, "He came to us five years ago when we were being attacked by this… thing… called Abaddon. He was apparently friends with one of the team- a guy named Ianto- and Ianto called him up for help and he came. But the odd thing is, Jack died but then he came back to life." She looked over at Rose and was alarmed to see her deathly pale, "Rose, what's the matter?"

Rose couldn't believe it. It couldn't be… "This Jack… is he Jack Harkness… is this him? Is this your boss?" she garbled, yanking out her phone and finding a photo of her and Jack, "Gwen, please tell me this is your Jack."

Gwen took the mobile curiously and paled herself. "Yes… that's Jack… how do you know him, Rose?"

"That's my Jack!" Rose said, "He's my best friend. He travelled around with me and the Doctor and I loved him to bits."

Gwen was staring at her. "I thought I recognised you," she said slowly, "The first time we ever met Jack; it was about seven years ago when someone opened the rift. You were there with Jack and some other guy…"

"The Doctor!" Rose smiled, "It was during the Mr. Saxon fiasco, right?"

"Yeah," Gwen agreed, "Oh God, this is such a coincidence!"

"You're telling me!" Rose laughed, "How is he?"

"Well, he seems fine to me," Gwen pondered, "I've always thought he's been searching for something or someone. I guess that's you. How did you get split up?"

"He went off to help you fight the Abaddon on the day I was trapped here," Rose replied before frowning, "Did the Doctor never go back and pick him up?"

Gwen suddenly looked awkward. "He did," she said, "But it was when Jack was dead."

Rose's frown deepened and Gwen hastened to carry on. "He was killed destroying the Abaddon like I mentioned before," she stated, "We all thought he was dead 'cause even in our line of work, you don't come across people who can rise from the dead. The Doctor came by the day after. God, Rose, I still get chills thinking about his face when we told him and showed him Jack. He looked like a man who had lost everything. I remember he seemed confused and he did some tests on Jack much to our confusion but eventually he gave up and left. Then, a day of two later, Jack was suddenly alive again." Her face sobered completely. "He was devastated when we told him the Doctor thought he was dead. He's been searching and waiting for him ever since but there's not had a peep."

Rose sighed, tears in her eyes. "Poor Jack," she whispered, "I need to get back to him."

Gwen nodded solemnly. "I honestly think he needs you too, Rose. He's spoken about you in his quiet moments sometimes and I know he misses you and the Doctor. I just didn't realise it was you at first- didn't believe it, more like." She broke off awkwardly. "I think he thinks you're dead."

Rose nodded determinedly. "Then let's find out how this rift crosser thing works and make him happy again. Make us all happy again." She picked it up and started fiddling with it. "Right, show me as far as you can remember what you did," she instructed.

"What… what were you thinking about?" Rose questioned after about five minutes of nothing happening.

To her surprise, Gwen blushed. "I was thinking of Jack," she admitted, "Wishing I could help him somehow. He'd been a bit quiet just before and it makes me sad."

Rose smiled inwardly. Did her new friend hold a candle for her best friend?

"Could that be it?" she asked, trying to exhaust all of the possibilities, "Try doing whatever you were doing and thinking the same thing." She watched Gwen, keeping one hand on her arm just in case.

Suddenly, there was a flash of bright light and Rose felt a violent pulling sensation all over her body. She tried to scream but couldn't move a muscle. The next thing she knew, she was staring at the Millennium centre.

"We're back!" Gwen cried happily, "It worked!"

Rose stared around her, her heart thudding. She was really back in her own universe again? In the Doctor's universe?

* * *

Back in the other universe, Jonny woke up from his nap at his day care centre and starting howling.

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_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received.**_


	10. Back with Jack

**Domestics and Divisions**

_**Sorry, sorry, sorry! **__**As some of you may have read on my author's page, I'm having problems with time as I've got a lot to do in the next few weeks so updates are going to be erratic until mid-January at the earliest. I'll write when I can but no promises on when the next updates will be. Anyway, I made an extra special effort to get this chapter up today in time for Christmas. Hope you all have an amazing one and enjoy Voyage of the Damned (however you watch it!). Merry Christmas!**_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing that you might recognise belongs to me.**_

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**Part 10: Back with Jack**

Rose's grin got bigger as she stared around her surroundings; the familiar sights of the Millennium Centre and the giant water fountain glinting welcomingly in the evening sunshine. She couldn't believe it. She was actually back!

She quickly turned to Gwen, who was beaming herself, and hugged her tightly. "We did it!" she cried, "I'm home!"

Suddenly, a burning pain shot through her as she realised something terrible. Jonny…she'd left him behind. She felt sort of empty inside as if something was missing. How could she have left her son behind? The Doctor's child! How could she have forgotten? Rose grabbed at Gwen again, this time panicking.

"We've got to go back! I need to get Jonny!"

"We can't!" Gwen replied, trying to fight her off, "It might not work again and I don't want to get trapped again!"

"But what about Jonny?" Rose shouted desperately, making several people look up and over at them.

Gwen took a deep breath and placed her hands on Rose's shoulders. "Look, what we'll do is go into the Hub now, find Jack and then try and work out what to do with him, alright?"

Rose nodded shakily. Yes, they'd find Jack. Jack was good; he was wise. Jack would know what to do. Silently, she followed her new friend around the side of the Millennium centre and through a door marked 'Tourist Information Office'. But she didn't notice the peculiarities as they passed through a hidden door, went down several corridors and through a giant circular door that rolled open for them. Her mind was too full of her beloved baby boy. How could she have left him? She was a terrible mother!

"Gwen!"

Rose's thoughts were interrupted by a welcoming and relieved shout from a short Asian woman.

"Oh, Gwen, I'm so glad you're alright!" the woman said, hugging Gwen, "We were so worried!"

"Where have you been?" asked the drawling voice of an almost weasel faced young man, "Thought you'd been killed,"

"Careful Owen or you might sound caring," Gwen joked, "I'm fine, honestly. I've had a bit of an adventure. This is…"

"Rose?"

Rose shot around at the sound of a very familiar voice.

"Jack!" she cried, running towards him and leaping into his arms, "Jack!"

Jack clung her to him, wrapping his arms tightly around her slight body and burying his face in her golden hair.

"Rose, is it really you, Rose?" he mumbled, a couple of tears dropping down his cheeks, shocking the watching Torchwood team who rarely saw Jack cry,

"It's me," she whispered, "I got back through. I'm back,"

"Where were you?" Jack asked hollowly, "When the team told me you weren't with the Doctor... and then I saw the list of the dead and your name was on it..."

Rose cupped his face, tears in her eyes. "I was trapped in the parallel universe," she whispered, "The Doctor and I opened the rift to suck the Daleks and Cybermen into the void but I couldn't hold on..." Her voice cracked and Jack tightened his embrace, "I fell towards the gaping rift and I was screaming... the Doctor was screaming... I thought I was going to die, Jack... But my alternate Dad came through and caught me and took me into the alternate world." She gave a sob and wiped her eyes. "The Doctor had to close the rift and trapped me as a result and I've been there ever since, trying to live my life but missing you and the Doctor so much."

Jack wiped her tears away with the pads of his thumbs. "I'm so glad you're still alive, honey," he whispered, knowing she'd explain more later, "At least I've got one of you back."

Rose looked up at him, her lip trembling. "No sign of him then?"

Jack shook his head sorrowfully, dashing her hopes. "I've been waiting five years and he's not come near this place. Matt's have been keeping watch in London too but no sign."

Rose's eyes widened. "Matt? You're still in touch with him? He's OK?"

Jack nodded, a smile breaking out on his face despite the circumstances. "He's fine. Fully fledged lawyer now. Good to have, just in case." He winked at her and Rose giggled. "I see him at least once a month. Kirsty and Lauren too if they're about."

Rose gasped but before she could speak, there came an interruption from one of the Torchwood team members.

"Jack?" Owen said questionably,

"Oh, sorry," he apologised quickly, his face hopeful and giddy, "Guys, this is Rose, my best friend in the entire universe. Rose, this is the team. Owen..."

"That's _Doctor_ Owen Harper," he smirked.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Anyway... this is Toshiko Sato, computer whiz, and you already know Ianto." He winked at the blushing Welshman. "And finally, this is Gwen Cooper..."

"Yeah, I know," Rose grinned, "Thankfully."

Gwen smiled back at her before letting out a squeak as Jack hugged her tightly. "I missed you, Gwen Cooper," he told her,

"I missed you too, Jack," she said, "I'm glad to be home."

Jack grinned at her. "I'm assuming it was that object we couldn't work out what it was?"

"Yeah," Gwen nodded, before glancing at Rose who was waiting anxiously a few metres away. She knew she had important things to discuss with Jack and they had to catch up. "Can we talk about it tomorrow?" she questioned, "I'd like to go home and see Rhys,"

"That's fine," Jack replied, secretly relieved. He knew they had to get to the bottom of whatever this rift crosser object was, and for that to happen he had to hear the entire story from Gwen's perspective, but for now all he wanted was to lie down with his best friend and be reunited. "Take the rest of the day off," he announced to his team, "And I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning."

Gwen, Owen and Toshiko looked pleased as they began to make their preparations to leave, chattering excitedly about plans but Ianto looked woebegone. Jack suddenly realised he had made plans with the Welshman to go out that evening.

"Yan, could we postpone 'til tomorrow?" he pleaded softly, knowing Ianto knew how much Rose meant to him,

"Of course, Jack," Ianto nodded, with an understanding smile, "But I'm holding you to it."

Jack grinned, waving his team off before grabbing Rose in an enormous bear hug and kissing her solidly on the lips. "Never leave me again, Rose Tyler," he murmured,

"I won't," she promised, "Except…"

"Except what?" he asked patiently, leading her through the Hub to his office and then down into his bedroom where they lay comfortably on his bed, Rose's head resting on his lap.

Rose hesitated. "I'll need to go back at least once more," she started slowly, feeling her heart constricting, "There's someone I'll need to pick up,"

"Your mother?" Jack hummed, playing with her hair,

"Well, no," Rose replied, suddenly wondering how the future was going to play out. She knew she'd stay here with Jack now, once she had got Jonny, in order to search for the Doctor but she didn't want to leave her mother or father or Mickey… She dismissed the thought for now. She'd think about it later. "Jack, you know just before we got separated?" she said, deciding on an approach,

"Yeah?"

"Well, you know how I was really emotional all the time, and me and the Doctor had that huge row?"

"Yup," Jack nodded, with a wince,

"Well, I found out why I was like that," Rose said slowly, "I… I was pregnant."

Jack sat up suddenly, staring down at her. "Pregnant?" he gasped, "With the Doctor's child?"

Rose nodded slowly, her face solemn.

"Did he know?" Jack asked,

"I don't think so, and I never got the chance to tell him on the one brief time I managed to see him again," Rose said heavily,

"What…?" Jack started before changing his mind. That story could be told later. "So, you're a mother?" he asked instead, his face breaking into a smile.

Rose smiled back; glad he was taking it well. "Yeah. I had a little boy. I called him Jonathan Jack Tyler after you and the Doctor,"

"JJ?" Jack grinned.

Rose giggled. "I call him Jonny at the moment but no doubt he'll be called that by the time he's grown up,"

"Jonny," Jack breathed,

"Yeah, your nephew. And…" she hesitated, "Your godson?"

Jack looked at her, startled. "You want me to be his godfather?"

Rose nodded shyly. "I named Mickey- remember him?- his other godfather but I always held out hoping I'd be able to ask you one day."

Jack beamed. "Of course I will," he said, "When can I meet him?"

"That's the thing," Rose said, her face crumpling, "I don't know if you will be able to. I'm scared I won't be able to get back through to him and I want him so much!"

"Rose," Jack said gently, wrapping her in a comforting hug, "We'll get him back. First thing tomorrow, we'll try the rift crosser and I'll come back with you, alright?"

Rose nodded. "What if it doesn't?" she whispered,

"Then we'll find another way," Jack said in determination, "But let's stay positive, yeah?"

"Yeah," Rose nodded.

Jack smiled at her. "So how old is he?" he questioned,

"Almost three now," Rose answered, "Absolutely perfect and very mischievous,"

"Takes after his father then?" Jack laughed.

Rose grinned and laughed.

"How did he get conceived?" Jack asked delicately, voicing something that he'd been wondering since he'd found out.

Rose smirked. "I never thought I'd have to give you the birds and the bees talk, Jack Harkness," she teased.

He pushed her lightly. "You know what I mean," he said, "You and the Doctor were at it like bunnies but the impression I got was that you always used protection,"

"We did," Rose nodded, a frown creasing her forehead, "I guess we must have forgotten once or something. I don't really know. All I know is I have Jonny now and I love him to bits and wouldn't exchange him for the world. I just wish he could meet his father."

Jack nodded, understanding. "Then we've got to find the Doctor," he declared, "Soon as we're back from the parallel world with Jonny, we'll set the team looking for him. We'll find him, Rose, or my name's not Jack Harkness."

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_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received.**_


	11. Uncle Jack

_**Domestics and Divisions**_

_**Wooooo, it's been a while, hasn't it…? Sorry, been a bit busy with revision and exams and failing them. Anyway, thanks to Crawford for kicking me up the backside to get me going again hehe. Hope you enjoy this chapter **_**and, **_**hopefully **__**we'll be back to weekly updates again!**_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me.**_

_**

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**_**Part ****Eleven: Uncle Jack **

The next day, the Torchwood gang returned to work to find Jack and Rose looking decidedly sombre. They had spent the night talking and discussing what they were going to do to get Jonny back and had finally come up with a plan.

Jack called his employees and friends into his office where he and Rose told them a brief version of their history, explaining who the Doctor was and why he was so important to both of them. The team listened quietly until Jack mentioned what he and Rose had decided to do that day- use the rift crosser tool and go back to Pete's Universe to collect Jonny. It was at that point that Gwen objected.

"But you can't!" she insisted, "We don't know enough about its technology. You might get stuck over there and then what would we do?"

"It's a risk I'm gonna have to take," Jack replied, "Jonny needs his mother and Rose needs her son. Hopefully we'll be in and out quickly and safely but you just have to be aware of the potential consequences."

Gwen sighed, knowing there was no point in arguing with him. She'd never win. "Be careful then."

Jack nodded, with a smile. "I will. Gwen, I'm putting you in charge until I get back…"

There was an exclamation from Owen until Toshiko sharply kicked him in the ankle. Rose bit back her smirk as the doctor stared angrily at his friend.

It didn't take long for Jack to deal with everything so that there wouldn't be any major problems until his return. Shortly after, he and Rose said goodbye to the team and went up on the invisible lift- much to Rose's delight. She was particularly tickled at his explanation of why the lift existed, thinking back to the time in which they had come to Cardiff all those years ago.

"Do you know how to work it?" Jack asked, once they were in the open air, speaking of the rift crosser,

Rose bit her lip. "I think so, yeah. I twist it like so and think of you,"

"Me?" Jack asked in surprise,

"Yeah," she grinned, "That's what got Gwen to and from in the first place. She was thinking of you and wishing she could make you feel better."

Jack smiled. "Let's give it a try then." He put his arms around Rose so she was facing his chest as she fiddled with the contraption, thinking hard of her best friend. Nothing happened.

"I don't understand," Rose frowned, "Do you think it only works for two trips?" Her face paled. She couldn't bear never to see her baby again,

"Don't think that, honey," Jack said quickly, "Maybe you're thinking of the wrong thing?"

Rose shrugged. "I'm thinking of you. That's what Gwen did."

Jack pursed his lips as he thought deeply. "Maybe… maybe it worked for Gwen because she wanted to help me- so it took her to you because somehow this contraption knows that being reunited with me would make me feel better…"

Rose grinned before she picked up on his train of thought. "So what you're suggesting is that maybe we have to think of what we want for it to work? So, if I think that I want to get Jonny…"

There was a sudden flash of bright light and the same violent pulling sensation that Rose had experienced earlier. Their feet slammed to the floor seconds later, leaving them panting.

"It worked!" she cried happily, "We're back!"

Jack grinned, taking his first look at the world that had been Rose's home for the past three years. "They like zeppelins, hey?"

"Yup," Rose nodded, "They use them instead of aeroplanes here. Slower but better for the environment,"

"Fair enough," Jack nodded before a smile slid onto his face, "Remember our zeppelin, Rose?"

She laughed. "I thought I was going to die. Instead I met you,"

"Which is so much better," Jack smirked, taking her hand as she began to led them through the busy streets of London,

"Definitely," she agreed, "You and your fancy stolen spaceship,"

"_Borrowed_, thank you," he stressed with a cheeky grin, "Just because I took it without asking and then never gave it back…"

Rose shook her head before drawing to a halt outside a big iron gate. "Here we are,"

"_Here_?" Jack spluttered, "It's a bloody mansion!"

"Dad's rich in this universe," his friend explained, punching in the key code and walking up the enormous drive, "He and Mum live here. I used to but moved into a flat down the road when Jonny was about one." Speaking of Jonny, the ache inside her was rapidly reducing as she got closer to him. She was dying to see him again.

Jack nodded, squeezing her hand as she pulled out a key and slotted it in the front door. She pushed it open slowly and the wailing of a young child greeted their ears.

"Jonny!" Rose cried, recognising the sound. She dropped Jack's hand and raced up the stairs, heading for the nursery.

"_Rose_!" a familiar voice screamed as she entered the room, "Where were you? I was so frantic!"

Rose held onto her mother. "I got back, Mum," she said, tears prickling in her eyes, "I'm sorry I worried you. It just happened." She let go off Jackie and made her way to the cot where her son was sitting, crying his eyes out. She scooped him up. "Shh, Jonny. I'm here now, shh…"

Instantly, he quietened down, his tears magically drying. "Mummy," he mumbled, resting his head on her shoulder and sticking his thumb in his mouth. Rose pressed a kiss to his head, so grateful to have his warm weight back in her arms.

"Rose?" her mother's voice interrupted.

She looked up, shocked to see how tired her mother looked. "Oh God, I'm so sorry, Mum. How long have I been away?"

"Just the day," Jackie replied, "But Jonny didn't stop crying the entire time. Where _were_ you?"

Rose stroked her boy's hair. He hadn't stopped crying? "I got back home," she explained, "To our universe,"

"How?" Jackie gasped, her hands flying to her mouth in shock,

"It was Gwen. That object she had- we worked out how to use it. It took us back to Cardiff and I found…"

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" a voice roared from outside the room, interrupting Rose.

Jackie frowned. "What's going on now?" she muttered, marching to the door, closely followed by Rose. They opened it to see Pete standing sternly in front of Jack, his arms folded.

"What are you doing in my house?" he demanded, "How did you get in?"

"Dad, wait!" Rose cried at the same time as Jackie exclaimed, "Jack?"

"Good to see you, Jackie," Jack grinned, leaping forward and kissing her on the cheek.

She giggled like a schoolgirl, much to Rose's amusement. Not to Pete's though. His eyes had narrowed, a questioning frown on his face.

"Jack?" he asked slowly, "As in _the_ Jack?"

"Yeah," Rose said, her eyes suspiciously bright, "We found each other again, Dad."

Pete's eyes softened as he looked at his surrogate daughter. "Where've you been, sweetheart?"

"Back," she said simply, "With Gwen. I found a way, Dad."

Pete smiled, embracing her. "I'm so pleased for you, love,"

"Thanks," she whispered, "Look, let's go down to the lounge and I'll explain everything. Where's Mickey?"

"Oh! He's probably still out searching for you," Jackie said, "I'll ring him and say you're home."

Rose nodded and led the way to the lounge.

"Jack," she said as soon as she'd taken a seat, Jonny bouncing on her lap, "Meet Jonny."

Jack grinned, kneeling down in front of her. "Hey Jonny," he said, offering the small boy his large hand, "I'm Jack."

Jonny cautiously took it in his tiny hand and shook. "Hi, Uncle Jack," he grinned.

Jack smiled in delight, glancing up at Rose. "Uncle Jack?"

"I told him about you," she explained, "Always said I hoped he'd be able to meet his Uncle Jack one day,"

"Uncle Jack, brave and ham- some!" Jonny inputted,

"I love him already," Jack laughed.

Rose smiled.

"Uncle Jack. Come play aliens!" Jonny urged, "We gotta beat the nasty cybermans!"

Jack laughed again and the two males ran off to play together. Rose sighed contentedly. They'd bonded already. She was glad as she knew they were going to spend a lot of time together in the future. Now all that was left was for her son to meet his father. She'd taken a step forward with finding a way back into her universe- the chance of her longed for reunion had increased dramatically but she had to be rational. Jack had said himself, he'd been waiting in Cardiff for five long years and the Doctor had never arrived. At the same time, Matt, Lauren and Kirsty had been keeping an eye out in London but they'd seen nothing either. Where was the Doctor? Was he alright? God, she hoped he hadn't regenerated again!

Her worried thoughts were interrupted by her parent's arrival in the lounge, close followed by Mickey who ran and gave her a hug.

"Don't do that to me ever again!" he said, half sternly.

Rose nodded guiltily. "Sorry. Mickey, do you remember Jack?"

Mickey turned around to see the ex-time agent sitting on the rug with Jonny. "Hi," he greeted. He didn't really know Jack that well as the only time he had met him was in modern day Cardiff all those years ago. Mickey had stayed behind in this parallel world several months before Rose's life had changed with the Doctor abandoning her for a year and then their eventual reunion with one another and then with Jack. Rose had told him plenty about her best friend but Mickey knew there was a big difference in hearing about someone and actually seeing it, and he didn't have particularly fond memories of Captain Jack anyway.

"Hey Mickey," Jack nodded, before going back to play with his godson.

Rose sighed quietly before starting to speak, explaining everything that had happened since the last time Pete, Mickey and Jackie had seen her. She watched her mother's eyes widen before an intense fear occupied them.

"You're going to go back then? For good?"

"I've got to, Mum," Rose muttered, "I have to take this chance that I'll find him again."

Jackie nodded, understanding. "And I guess Jonny will be going too?" She didn't wait for a reply, knowing that there was no way that her daughter would leave her son behind. "So, I'll lose you both?"

"Come with us," Rose suggested.

Jackie shook her head. "I can't leave Pete,"

"Dad could come too!"

"But Rose, I'm officially dead in your universe. I have been for over twenty five years according to your stories," Pete said gently.

Rose nodded numbly. "Mum and me are officially dead too," she suddenly realised, "The Doctor told me…"

There was a silence for a while, punctured only by Jonny's enthusiastic squeals and Jack's laughs but he was obviously listening in.

"What do we do then?" Rose whispered, "I have to go back to find the Doctor. I need him and I want him to meet Jonny but I don't want to leave you behind…" She gave a frustrated sigh. "If only there was some way of changing the official records!"

"But even if there was, wouldn't that cause more problems as the friends and family of your Pete Tyler would know something's up if I suddenly came back to life?" Pete argued.

Rose shrugged, a desperate look on her face. "I suppose I could use the rift crosser thing to come and visit you every so often…?"

"No," Pete said immediately, "Not until I know if it's having any sort of effect on the rift. I don't want the same thing happening again. The polar ice caps are only just beginning to freeze again."

Rose nodded. "Then what?"

There was another silence before Jackie took Rose's hand in hers, tears in her eyes. "You're going to have to take Jonny and go back to your universe with Jack and wait for the Doctor,"

"But Mum…"

"No buts, Rose," Jackie said firmly, "I know you've not been happy since you arrived here despite appearing fine the last few years. I know how hard it is to lose someone you love. You need your Doctor back just like I needed my Pete back. I got him back and it's only right that you get the same even if it means losing you in the process."

Rose nodded slowly, tears streaming down her face. She understood what a huge sacrifice her mother was making for Rose's happiness. "I'll try my best to find a safe way to come back through," she choked.

Jackie nodded, holding her daughter tightly. "Probably best if you go now," she said quietly.

Rose moved her face away from Jackie. "OK," she whispered, before hugging her tightly, "I love you, Mum. Thanks so much for everything,"

"I love you too, sweetheart," Jackie replied, kissing her, "I'm so proud of you."

Rose nodded tearfully, staying in her mother's embrace for a moment longer before pulling out of it and facing Pete. He grinned at him, throwing his arms around her in a bear hug.

"You go and save your heart, Rose Tyler," he murmured, "I know you are going to survive and find him again,"

"Yeah, I hope so… Thanks Dad, I love you,"

"Love you too," Pete replied, his voice going gruff.

Rose smiled at him. "Look after Mum for me, yeah?"

"Course I will. And you take care of Jonny."

Rose nodded, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

After she'd said a sad goodbye to her oldest friend, Mickey, she ran lightly up the stairs to collect a few essential things to take back with her, including some of her clothes and accessories, Jonny's clothes, some of his toys, photos of her family- although she was determined she'd see them again- and lastly, but most importantly, she carefully took her TARDIS key out of the jewellery box she kept in her drawers. She took a deep breath as she tied the chain around her neck, fingering the key gently, before hoisting on her full to bursting rucksack and going back downstairs.

"Ready to go then?" Jack asked, pulling away from Jackie who had been badgering him to take care of her daughter and grandson and "make sure that Doctor does too or I'll find my way through the void and slap 'im so hard he'll regenerate!",

"Yup," Rose nodded sadly, taking Jonny from Pete's arms.

Jack nodded, pulling the rucksack onto his own back before pulling the rift crosser out of his overcoat pocket. "Here we got then,"

"Bye," Rose said, tears in her eyes, "I love you all and I'll find a way back, I promise,"

"Don't make promises you can't keep, love," Pete said, "Just try."

Rose nodded. "I will. Jonny, say goodbye to Granny and Grandpa and Uncle Mickey…"

"Bye-bye," the little boy said solemnly, somehow realising this was a sad occasion,

"Bye," Jackie whispered, tears flooding her face.

She bravely smiled at her daughter for one last time before a blinding flash of white light overtook them and they were gone.

* * *

_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received.**_


	12. New Beginnings

_**Domestics and Divisions**_

_**No, it has not been three months since I last updated. Put that silly idea out of your heads right now blushes. Uh, sorry about that. Uni just took over but I've finished for the summer now so I should get this story finished. Feel free to bombard me with messages demanding update**__**s if I don't post regularly…**_

_**A little recap: the Doctor and Rose have been arguing a lot recently. Rose wants to get married and have a baby. She finally plucks up the courage to tell the Doctor this. As usual, his mouth opens before his brain operates and he crushes her. They have a massive argument but after a thorough talking to from Matt, Kirsty (who is pregnant and engaged) and Lauren, Rose makes up with the Doctor only to be cruelly ripped from his side moments later via Doomsday. In the meantime, Jack is 'killed' fighting Abaddon. Thinking they're both lost to him, the Doctor flies off into space, broken. Three years later, in the parallel world, Rose has given birth to the Doctor's baby of whom neither had any idea about. Jonny is almost three years old when one day at Torchwood, Gwen Cooper suddenly appears, having been sucked through the Void. After a bit of talking, Rose realises they both know Jack (who is really alive), they use the object to get back through to Rose's proper world. She is reunited with Jack but realises she's left her son behind. Jack goes back with her and she says goodbye to her family for now before operating the gadget to come back home. And that's where we left off last time. Hope you enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me.**_

_**

* * *

**_**Part ****Twelve: New Beginnings **

Rose and Jack slammed back onto the Plaza outside of the Millennium Centre, blinking slightly in the bright sunshine. As they got their breath back, Jonny gave a couple of small whimpers.

"You OK, champ?" Jack asked him, ruffling his hair.

The little boy peered out nervously from his mother's neck, sticking his thumb firmly in his mouth. Rose kissed his forehead.

"I think he has Time Lord senses," she told Jack, "He probably feels the difference between the worlds, as he's never been here before. Well- not outside of the womb."

Jack nodded. "It's understandable."

Rose smiled weakly as they made their way back into the Hub, where Gwen, Owen, Ianto and Tosh were overjoyed to see them again, safe and well. The females instantly cooed over Jonny, and after introductions had been made, they started playing with him. His giggles soon echoed around the cavernous room.

Rose, Jack and Ianto went and sat down at the table overlooking the Hub. Rose kept a close eye on her son but she knew that Gwen especially would take care of him and not let him wander. In the meantime, it was time for them to discuss their future.

"Where are we going to live?" she wondered out loud,

"You can both live with me, if you want," Jack offered, wanting to keep his previously lost friend close to him, "I've got a spare room off my room,"

"Thanks," Rose nodded gratefully, missing the almost annoyed glance that Ianto threw at Jack.

Jack apparently missed it as well since he said, "No problem, honey."

Rose smiled at him, having missed being called that. "I'm going to need to go shopping soon," she frowned after a moment, "I've only got what I packed in that bag and that was only bare essentials. God knows where I'm gonna get enough money from." She sighed. "Its times like this that I wish I still had the Doctor's unlimited credit card,"

"No, but I've got the next best thing. I'm giving you access to Torchwood's unlimited bank funds," Jack smirked, "Don't ask how it works. Highly illegal."

Rose giggled. "Trust you. Thanks, Jack,"

"No worries," the ex-Time Agent said easily, "You could get Gwen or Tosh to go with you later unless you _really_ want me to come with you…" He made a face, clearly demonstrating his opinion of that. He'd experienced too many shopping trips with Rose. Even the Doctor hadn't been able to face them; no matter how much he loved Rose.

"I'll do that," she grinned "If Mr. Boss-man says they can have the afternoon off…"

"Mr. Boss-man?" Jack scrunched his nose up, "Have you been talking to Jonny too much?"

She stuck her tongue out at him.

He laughed. "Anyway, you can join the team if you want to. I know you've got more than enough experience."

Rose smiled. "I'd like that," she nodded, "Be good to fight alongside you again. But please tell me you get more aliens than my Torchwood did? Half the time, I was filling out bloody paperwork!"

"No, we get quite a lot being right on the rift," Jack replied, "And that reminds me, Ianto, update on the Weevils?"

"Weevils?" Rose interrupted before the Welshman had a chance to reply.

Jack smirked. "I'll show you later."

Rose nodded with a smile before listening to Ianto.

"They seem to have gone underground again," he reported, "We've been tracking their usual hunting grounds but no sign of them. They've just disappeared again,"

"Weird," Jack mused, "Their appearances seem to be developing into some sort of pattern. How long since the last outing?"

Ianto frowned and consulted his notes. "About six months. Give or take a week. And I'm willing to bet that it was six months before that that they last appeared."

Jack nodded seriously. "I wonder what's causing it…?"

Ianto shrugged. "I'll look into it, Jack,"

"Cheers, Yan," he replied with a smile, "We'll have a team meeting later about it."

Ianto nodded and excused himself. Jack let out a sigh, leaning back in his seat and stretching his arms. Rose watched him happily.

Suddenly, Jack's 'phone buzzed on the table. He picked it up and smiled, showing his perfect white teeth. "It's Matt," he remarked.

Rose gasped, shooting over to him as he answered.

"Hey Jack," she heard distantly,

"Matt!" the ex-time agent replied happily, put the speaker on so Rose could hear, "How you doing?"

"I'm fine," he replied, "You sound happy!"

"I am," Jack grinned widely, "You'll never guess who's turned up?"

"Not the Doctor!" Matt breathed,

"Nope." Jack said, "Even better."

Rose could imagine Matt's face right about now.

"Rose…?"

"Hey Matt," she giggled down the mobile,

"Oh my God!"

Both Jack and Rose burst out laughing at their friend's response.

"How…? What…? Why…? Are you…? Oh my God! I can't… _How_?" Matt stuttered,

"It's a long story," Rose answered, "But basically one of Jack's team- do you know Gwen? - fell through the rift after messing with this device that fell _out_ of the rift. She appeared in the Torchwood that I was working at in the parallel world; we talked, discovered we both knew Jack and figured out how to use the device and I got back and found Jack again. I'll tell you the whole story when I see you,"

"When? How soon?" Matt asked eagerly, having only understood about half of Rose's explanation. Despite him and the two girls knowing things about aliens and time travel that the TARDIS trio had told them, they still didn't understand the finer details.

"ASAP," Rose replied, "Uh, how about the day after tomorrow? That'll give me time to sort myself out,"

"OK," Matt replied joyfully, "Oh God, Rose. I've missed you so much,"

"I've missed you too," she said, "I can't wait to see you,"

"Yeah, same. We've got five years to catch up on. A lot's happened, Rose,"

"Tell me about it!" Rose half-laughed, glancing down where Jonny was still playing with Gwen and Tosh, "D'you want to tell Kirsty and Lauren? I've still got my mobile but I don't know if their numbers have changed…"

"Kirsty's has but Lauren's is still the same," Matt nodded, "I think. Anyway, yeah. I'm meeting up with them in a couple of hours for our weekly get together,"

"OK, cool," Rose replied. She quickly made arrangements with her old friend before passing Jack his mobile back and leaning back in her chair with a contented smile. She was so happy to be back in contact with Matt.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Rose, Tosh and Gwen stepped blinking into the sunshine, ready to shop 'til they dropped. Jonny was spending some time with his new godfather. He hated shopping with Rose as much as Jack did.

"Where's good to shop in Cardiff then?" Rose asked her new friends,

"St. David's shopping centre is my favourite," Gwen told her, "We'll go there first. It has everything in it. Clothes shops, shoe shops, toy shops and a great smoothie bar,"

"Sounds perfect," Rose smiled, "How did you join Torchwood then?" she questioned, as they jumped into the SUV with Tosh at the wheel. Gwen sat next to her and Rose was in the back, looking around in interest.

Gwen laughed. "I was a member of the police before, and one night at a crime scene, I saw these guys doing something I shouldn't have seen. I got curious and followed them everywhere,"

"Yeah," Tosh smirked, "She gave us such a headache! She even disguised herself as a pizza carrier to gain access to the Hub!"

"You didn't!" Rose giggled,

"I did," Gwen confirmed proudly, "Suzie, who was the leader back then, then gave in and told me everything, but then she drugged me with Retcon and I forgot everything about them…"

"Retcon?" Rose asked suddenly,

"It's a drug which makes you…" Tosh began,

"I know what it is!" Rose said sharply. She sighed as her new friends flinched. "Sorry, I just have bad memories of it. I was drugged about five years ago before I was thrown into the parallel world, and I forgot everything about the Doctor and Jack."

Gwen bit her lip. "I'm sorry."

Rose waved it off. "Remembered luckily," she smiled weakly, "What's your story, Tosh?"

"Oh, I worked with the government in London as a scientist," she explained, "I was ordered to examine the alien that was discovered in the wreckage of the spaceship- do you remember, the one that crashed into the Thames, just before when Downing Street was blown up?"

Rose grinned. "Oh, I remember alright," she laughed, "I was inside Downing Street when it blew up!"

Tosh nearly crashed into the car in front of her. "_What_!?" she and Gwen chorused in shock.

The blonde woman let out a giggle. "Me, the Doctor and Harriet Jones were trapped inside the Board Room. It's a miracle we survived to be honest."

Her friends shook their head in wonder. They both knew they wanted to hear more of this story.

"Anyway," Tosh continued, "This alien, which turned out to be a pig that had been modified, according to this random bloke who called himself the…" She trailed off. "Rose, what's the Doctor look like?"

She smiled lovingly. "Tall, slim, gorgeous brown eyes, spiky hair that just begs out to be ruffled, just gorgeous… Why?"

Tosh shook her head. "Oh, don't worry. Just this guy called himself the Doctor and I just wondered if it was him…"

Rose frowned. "He looked different back then- before he regenerated,"

"Before he what?" Gwen asked in interest,

"Regenerated," she explained quickly, "Means he can change his entire body to look like a different man when his current body has to die for whatever reason. It's just something Time Lords can do. Anyway, Tosh, what did he look like?"

"Erm…" She frowned, struggling to remember, "Tall, closely cropped hair, black jacket… Oh, he had a northern accent as well,"

"Oh my God!" Rose beamed, "You met him! That's the Doctor. That took place a couple of days after I met him. That's so weird!"

"Yes," Tosh agreed, with a smile, "I just remember him because he was the one person I met during that day who seemed to know what was going on,"

"Yeah," Rose said with a laugh, "He gives that impression an awful lot."

Tosh giggled. "Anyway, the next day after everything had happened, Suzie turned up out of the blue, said she needed a scientist and she'd been monitoring me and me offered either a dose of Retcon or a job here. Course she didn't quite phrase it like that but that was the general idea. And here I am,"

"Cool," Rose nodded.

The two Torchwood members exchanged a glance before Gwen said, "So, what's the deal with Jack? He never tells us anything but he can do some pretty weird stuff. He can't die for starters,"

"He can still do that?" Rose asked in shock, "Oh God. I need to find the Doctor and fast. He might be able to help."

Gwen nodded. "He told me once that if he found a certain type of Doctor, then it might get sorted." She shrugged. "I've got to admit it though; it is kind of useful,"

"Yeah," Tosh agreed, "But why can he do that, Rose? Who is he?"

Rose hesitated. "I think if Jack hasn't told you, then I shouldn't either, as he obviously wants to keep it a secret."

Gwen nodded in acceptance. "Fair enough."

Rose smiled as Tosh pulled into a parking spot. "We're here," she announced, "Let's go shopping!"

* * *

The three girls had a fabulous time shopping, buying all sorts of odds and ends. They bumped into a suspicious looking Rhys at the shopping centre, much to Gwen's surprise. Her boyfriend was supposed to be at work. All the same, she introduced him to Rose, describing her as a 'new work mate, who's just arrived in Cardiff.' They then left Rhys and arrived back at the Hub, laden down with bags, much to Jack's amusement. The team had Chinese together before everyone except Jack and Rose left for the night.

"He's dead to the world," Jack said softly, as he carried a sleeping Jonny into his new room. Rose looked up and smiled from where she was finishing making her son's bed.

"Want to tuck him in?" she suggested.

Jack nodded and grinned, placing his godson into the small bed. "Sweet dreams, champ," he whispered, ruffling the boy's hair.

Rose looked on, smiling happily before yawning,

"Tired?" Jack asked her.

She nodded. "I think I'll head to bed. It's gone ten,"

"OK. Sweet dreams, honey." He kissed her cheek and hugged her tightly. She stayed in his arms for a little while, relishing being close to him again before slipping off to Jack's room where they'd mutually agreed she would sleep. In the mean time, Jack went back up to his office in the Hub.

Some time later, he was reading some reports on recent Weevil activity when he heard muffled sobbing. At first he thought it was Jonny but quickly realised they sounded too feminine and familiar. Jack quickly crossed over his office and slipped down the fireman's pole into his bedroom.

"Rose?" he said softly, moving to the lump in his bed.

She rolled over to face him, showing her tearstained face and quivering lip. "I miss him so much, Jack," she whispered.

He lay down next to her and gave her a cuddle. "Me too," he admitted.

Rose nodded. "I've always missed him but I've been alright the past year. I thought I was… well, not getting over him exactly but… y'know, coping alright. But now, being back in this world, it's just bringing it all back up and I feel so lonely inside and scared. I know I've got you but I so want him as well!" She began sobbing again, nestling into Jack's chest. He stroked her hair reassuringly, waiting for her to calm down.

"We can't do anything but wait, honey," he told her sadly, "I've tried ringing the TARDIS numerous times but it never connects. All we can do is hope he comes back to refuel someday soon,"

"But what if he never picks this year?" Rose whispered, "What if he stays away from Cardiff because it's too painful because of the memories?"

Jack shrugged. He'd had similar thoughts before. "We just have to hope," he whispered, "That's all we can do."

* * *

_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received.**_


	13. Reunited Again

**Domestics and Divisions**

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me.**_

_**

* * *

**_**Part ****Thirteen: Reunited Again**

The next few days were spent getting reacquainted and turning the living quarters of the Hub into home. Jack had groaned when he'd first entered his room to see splashes of pink everywhere but Rose knew he didn't really mind. She'd also had some basic retraining by Jack to check she was up to standard to be out on the field but had steadfastly refused to have a gun. She shared the Doctor's belief about them and Jack respected that. The only reason he carried one himself was because it was engrained into him from Time Agent training all those years ago. He rarely fired it at any rate.

Right now, he was driving Rose and Jonny down to London, having left the team in Gwen's hopefully capable hands. He hadn't seen Matt or the girls for a long while and had decided now was a good as time as ever to visit them. They were both very excited and Rose was also slightly nervous.

"Have they changed much?" she asked, "I mean, five years, it's a long time!"

"They're still the same people," Jack answered, "Same personality, same everything. The only thing's that changed is relationships and jobs and stuff,"

"Oh my God! Did Kirsty get married?" Rose said excitedly.

Jack grinned and nodded. "I didn't go 'cause it was too late by the time I came 'round but I've seen the photos,"

"What about the baby?"

"Born and absolutely gorgeous," Jack replied, loving telling her all this,

"Boy or girl? I remember she was hoping for a girl but didn't mind either," Rose laughed,

"I'm not gonna tell you!" Jack teased, "Wait and see!"

"Aww!" she whined, "What about Lauren? Has she found a boyfriend yet? And Matt?"

"Yes and yes," Jack said, "But my lips are sealed. They'll want to tell you all the juicy gossip themselves!"

Rose giggled. She'd missed this playful banter with Jack. "Oh, I can't wait!" she shivered, "Are we nearly there yet?!"

* * *

They arrived in London just over two hours later and carefully navigated through the familiar streets of London to the Powell Estate. Rose climbed out of the SUV and stared up at the tall building in front of her. It still looked exactly the same; new graffiti here and there and repainted garage doors but the essence was still the same. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering suddenly, as she silently crossed the worn tarmac and headed up the stairs to her old flat. Someone else would live there now. All of their stuff would be scattered around her bedroom; they would be having the laughter and tears and arguments that she'd had inside those walls. Without meaning to, a tear dripped down Rose's cheek. She had a powerful longing for her life as it had been before everything had gone terribly wrong. She wanted to be able to run out of the TARDIS, laughing as the Doctor chased her, and speed up the dirty white stairs and skid to a stop outside this door before hammering on it cheerfully, waiting until it opened and then receive a warm, loving bear hug from her mother. Rose sniffed, wiping her eyes hastily. She wanted her mum so much.

A warm arm appeared around her shoulders and she leant into Jack. Jonny was balanced on his hip.

"Mummy, why you sad?" he asked worriedly.

She smiled weakly. "This is where Mummy used to live when she was with Daddy," she told him, bending the truth slightly so he could understand.

Jonny nodded. "Daddy here?" he asked.

Rose shook her head. "No Jonny. I don't know where Daddy is but I wish I did."

Jack kissed her hair comfortingly and she smiled up at him. "Let's go."

He nodded. She took a last look at the door before turning and walking down the landing with her best friend and son. When they got to the bottom, she had a sudden thought.

"Jack, do you have any paint or something that will write on walls?" she asked.

He frowned before nodding and went and grabbed a can of spray paint out of the SUV before handing it to her. She smiled and went over to the wall where the TARDIS always landed. She had to take this chance.

Carefully, she sprayed the words 'Bad Wolf. Cardiff 2018' onto the wall. "I don't know if he'll ever see it," she said to Jack, "But I have to try. And I do know they don't scrub the graffiti off the walls around here,"

"It's a good idea," he nodded, taking her hand, "Come on, let's go. It's nearly time to meet the guys."

* * *

Ten minutes later, they entered the park where they had all arranged to meet up. Coincidentally, it was the same park that Rose had last seen her friends before she had run off to make it up to the Doctor and then Canary Wharf had happened.

She was tightly holding on to Jack's hand, inexplicably nervous of the meeting. She desperately hoped none of them had changed too much and they would still gel the same way. She drew to a stop as she saw a group of people sitting underneath the tree they always sat under when they chilled out in the park. Her heart entered her throat and tears sprung to her eyes.

"_ROSE_!" came three cries.

She dropped Jack's hand and started running towards the three figures that were sprinting towards her. They met with a crash and the next few minutes were filled with hugs, tears and happiness.

"Oh God, we missed you so much!" Kirsty cried,

"I missed you too," Rose whispered, happy tears in her eyes, "I can't believe I never got to say goodbye,"

"It doesn't matter," Matt insisted, hugging her again,

"Yeah, least we've got you back now, right?" Lauren checked.

Rose nodded. "I'm staying with Jack in Cardiff at least until we find the Doctor again,"

"Still no sign then?" Matt asked sadly.

She shook her head. "I just got to keep on praying. I've just left him a message at the Powell Estate which hopefully will help. Have any of you seen him since it happened?"

Her heart sank as they all shook their heads. "All we got was a text message," Kirsty said, "About four months after you'd all gone missing. We honestly thought you'd all died. Had to put the wedding back and everything,"

"Oh no, Kirsty!" Rose said guiltily.

She shook her head. "I couldn't get married when I was still grieving for you. Scott understood though and we postponed it. Course as soon as I knew you were still alive, it happened." She smiled, displaying her wedding ring which glittered in the sunlight.

"That's so beautiful, Kirsty," Rose whispered, examining it, "Lucky girl!"

"Oh, I know!" she joked.

Rose giggled. "So about the text message?"

"Oh, I'll show you," Lauren said, digging out her mobile phone, "I still have it. We all got sent the same thing from an unknown sender but we assumed it was the Doctor." She handed her phone over to Rose who looked at the message on the screen,

"Rose is still alive," she read out, "but she is trapped in a parallel universe. She said to tell you she loves you and misses you. I'm searching for a way to get her back but chances are slim to none. I'm sorry, so sorry. Thank you for everything." Rose shivered as she looked up. "He was in agony when he wrote this," she whispered, not knowing how she knew, "I asked him to do it and he did even though it was killing him inside,"

"But how did you ask him to?" Matt asked, "That's been puzzling me for years."

"Oh!" She quickly told them about when the Doctor had come through and said goodbye to her. Lauren and Kirsty were crying by the end.

"That must have been so difficult," Lauren murmured, "God, Rose."

She smiled sadly before looking around and seeing Jack strolling towards them with Jonny and a strange little girl who looked slightly older than her son. They all had an ice cream grasped in their hands which they were enjoying immensely.

Matt looked over too. "Hey, since when did you have a kid, Jack?" he asked, eyeing Jonny up,

"Not mine," he replied easily, glancing at Rose, "Guess you haven't got to that bit yet, Rose?"

"That's my name!" piped up the strange little girl,

"Thought you preferred Rosie," Jack said cheekily.

Rosie stuck her tongue out at Jack.

"Rosie, manners!" Kirsty said sharply, "And I hope you thanked Uncle Jack for your ice cream,"

"Thank you, Uncle Jack!"

Rose laughed, loving the little girl. She glanced at Kirsty, putting two and two together, "Kirsty?"

"Rose, may I introduce my little scamp of a daughter, Rosie," her friend said, "Aged four and a half and cheeky as anything,"

"Hi Rosie," Rose smiled, waving.

Rosie waved back before darting to her mother's side, "Mama, who is that lady?"

"That is Aunty Rose," Kirsty explained, "One of my best friends and who you are named after."

Rose smiled, touched before she turned her attention to her son who was tugging at her top,

"Mummy, do you want some ice cream?" he offered.

"_Mummy_?" chorused her three friends before she had time to reply,

"Uh, yeah," she said sheepishly, "Guys, I'd like you to meet Jonny, my son."

Her friends all cried out at once.

"_What?" _Lauren asked,

"Your _son_?" Kirsty gasped,

"Since when?" Matt exclaimed.

Rose couldn't help but giggle at their reactions. "OK, do you remember when we last saw each other and you, Kirsty, suggested I might be pregnant because I was being a moody cow?" She waited until they had nodded before continuing. "Well, I _was _pregnant although I only found out about a month later. About seven months after that, Jonny arrived,"

"And the Doctor's the father?" Lauren asked quietly.

Rose nodded, fussing with her son's unruly hair. "I don't know what happened. We always used protection. I guess we must have forgotten or maybe the condom split?" She shrugged. "I won't ever know but I wouldn't change having Jonny for the world. He's my everything."

Kirsty and Lauren 'awwed' in unison before rushing forward to coo over him.

"How old are you, Jonny?" Kirsty asked,

"Nearly three," he said, grinning toothily,

"How?" Matt asked, "It's been five years. Surely he'd be the same age as Rosie?"

Rose shook her head. "Only three years has passed for me in the alternate universe." She laughed slightly. "_Only_! Ha!"

"Does the Doctor know about him?" Matt continued.

"No," she said sadly, "I bottled it the only chance I got to tell him when we said goodbye. I just hope when they finally meet, he accepts Jonny." She sighed, revealing something that had worried her since she found out about her son, "He told me he didn't want children. I don't want him to be angry at me,"

"Hey Rose, it's not your fault!" Lauren said strongly, "It takes two to make a baby. If he kicks up a fuss, I'll kick him up the arse, OK?"

Rose laughed. "Thanks Lauren. So, me and Kirsty have kids, what about you?"

She blushed and shook her head. "Not yet," she smiled, "But maybe soon,"

"Oh?" Rose raised an eyebrow, especially after seeing Kirsty's grin.

Lauren waved her hand in front of Rose's eyes, proudly displaying an engagement ring. She gasped. "Oh my God, Lauren! Congratulations! When? Who's the lucky fella?"

Lauren smiled shyly. "Do you remember Danyal, Scott's best friend? He came with us on the bikes to the wedding shop?"

"Oh yeah," Rose nodded, before her eyes widened, "_Him_?"

Lauren grinned and nodded. "He called me while you were away on that planet and asked me out for a drink and we just gelled." She sighed, "He was so supportive when we were grieving for you. We've been together ever since and he popped the question last Christmas. We're getting married in September. You will come, right? Rosie's going to be flower girl and everything,"

"I'd love to," she beamed, "Oh, I'm so happy for you!"

They spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in the park and catching up on everything they had missed in each other's lives over the past three to five years. Jonny and Rosie made friends and were soon playing happily under the watchful eye of the adults- a term that sent a wave of amazement through the group of friends who still firmly thought of themselves as teenagers.

At half past five, they reluctantly decided it was time to part company as the children needed feeding and Jack and Rose had a long journey back to Cardiff.

""We'll meet up again as soon as possible," Lauren promised, hugging Rose tightly,

"Yeah, once a month minimum," Kirsty agreed, "We could come to Cardiff next time and maybe make a little holiday out of it."

Rose nodded. "Sounds great. It's been fantastic seeing you all again,"

"Same here," Matt smiled, kissing her cheek, "We'll keep searching, Rose. Let us know if he turns up, yeah?"

"Yeah," she smiled bravely, "Bye,"

"Bye, Rose," her friends waved, "See you soon."

* * *

Several months passed by quickly. Rose focused on her work with Jack's team and was soon seen as a very able member of the gang which the original members liked and respected. She kept in touch with her college friends, usually speaking to one or the other every couple of days. They met up regularly as promised and fast became the inseparable friends they had been previously.

Two months after she had arrived back in her home universe, Rose and Jack happily saw Lauren walk down the aisle to be married to Danyal. The news that she was pregnant that came a couple of months later was of no surprise to anyone and Rose eagerly awaited the arrival of another niece or nephew.

Jonny settled down happily into this new universe. He was enrolled into the local nursery and made several new friends but was just as content messing around the Hub, talking animatedly to members of the team and playing aliens with Jack much to the amusement of everyone else. His third birthday passed with a noisy party with cake, balloons and lots of presents of which he was delighted. Rose was pleased to see how well he got to grips with his new life. She knew he missed his grandparents and friends from the other universe- she did so, desperately sometimes, especially when it felt like the Doctor was never going to come- but Jonny retained a positive outlook and she followed his lead determinedly.

* * *

Rose shivered in the cold January wind, huddling further into her coat. She sighed out and pulled up the hood, covering her blonde hair as it began to rain heavily.

'_Bloody Welsh weather_, she thought grumpily to herself. She was attempting to track a group of Weevils that had been spotted by a passer-by about an hour ago. They had called the police who notified Torchwood and now here she was freezing in a deserted alleyway on the dodgy side of the Welsh capital. She had originally been tracking with Jack and Gwen but had lost them about ten minutes ago. She maintained radio contact with them and Tosh back at the Hub but hoped Jack would decide to give up on the aliens for now. She wanted to go back home and have a hot cup of tea and read Jonny a bed time story rather than freeze her arse off outside.

She frowned to herself as she turned a corner before letting out a scream as a Weevil came out of nowhere. She frantically rummaged in her pocket for her repellent spray as she backed away before letting out a cry as she tripped over an empty can left lying on the group by some thoughtless yob. She flung an arm over her face as the Weevil prepared to strike, trying desperately to move away off the floor.

Suddenly, a hand gripped hers, tugging her up and back onto her feet. From behind her, a voice hissed:

"_Run!_"

* * *

_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received.**_


	14. Sons and Lovers

**Domestics and Divisions**

_**Sorry its taken a while (again) but I've started working full time so I'm limited to my free time that I'm actually in the mood or awake enough to write this**__**! The next update will be along as soon as possible. Thanks for reading and reviewing and I hope you enjoy. Now… who could this mystery person be…?**_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me.**_

_**

* * *

**_**Part ****Fourteen: Sons and Lovers**

_Previously:_

_She frowned to herself as she turned a corner before letting out a scream as a Weevil came out of nowhere. She frantically rummaged in her pocket for her repellent spray as she backed away before letting out a cry as she tripped over an empty can left lying on the group by some thoughtless yob. She flung an arm over her face as the Weevil prepared to strike, trying desperately to move away off the floor._

_Suddenly, a hand gripped hers, tugging her up and back onto her feet. From behind her, a voice hissed:_

"_Run!__" _

Rose let herself be dragged off by whoever had taken her hand, knowing she would be safer that way. She kept looking back at the Weevil who was slowly chasing them as they dodged, twisted and turned down the alleyways of Cardiff. She cursed in her head as her hood slowly slipped off her head, exposing her freshly washed hair to the lashing rain. Finally, the stranger pulled her sharply aside into a small, dark alcove in a wall. They both held their breath as the Weevil ambled past, grunting slightly. Then, once the danger had passed, they both turned to look at each other.

Rose gasped, as did the man staring back at her, shock, amazement and disbelief mirrored in both of their eyes.

"Doc…"

"_Rose?_" Jack's voice suddenly came through on the radio in her ear, "_Are you alright? We heard you scream._"

Her eyes still fixed on her rescuer's face, Rose shakily replied, "I…I'm fine, Jack,"

"_Good_," Jack said in obvious relief, "_Where are you, honey? We'll come find you and then let's go back to the Hub. We're getting nowhere tonight,_"

"I'm…" she started, "Oh God. Jack. He's here. The Doctor's here!"

She launched into the Doctor's arms, resting her weary head against his chest, the wonderfully familiar sound of his double heart beat thundering around her ears. She felt his arms wrap tightly around her, pulling her closer to him.

"Rose… oh God, Rose. Is it really you?" the Doctor whispered into her hair, breathing in her oh so familiar scent.

She struggled to speak to him, completely speechless. "Yeah… you're here… _Doctor_!"

"_Rose!? Talk to me. Rose! Are you serious? Is he there?_" Jack's excited voice came through, "_Please tell me you're serious…_"

The Doctor smiled weakly, having heard Jack's plea. He reached for the tiny speaker. "Jack Harkness, I thought you were dead."

"_DOCTOR_!" Jack yelled down the 'phone, "_Oh God, am I pleased to hear your voice_!"

The Time Lord laughed, seeing Rose raise a smile from where she was cradled firmly in his arms. "Where are you, Jack?"

"_In the city centre, on the way back to the Hub. Rose, I'll meet you there, alright?_"

"OK," Rose nodded, finally finding her voice, "We'll be there soon. Jack, have you had news on how Jonny is?" She asked, casting a nervous glance at the Doctor. Oh God, how was she going to tell him?

"_He's fine_," Jack said cautiously, "_See you soon._"

Rose smiled and disconnected her microphone for privacy.

"Who's Jonny?" the Doctor asked curiously.

Rose bit her lip. "Uh, you'll meet him soon enough," she said hurriedly, "God, I am so glad to see you, Doctor. I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever see you again."

He hugged her tightly. "I'm here. We're finally back together," he whispered, as if to reassure himself too, "But _how_ Rose? You were stuck in the parallel universe!"

Rose smiled. "Bit of a long story. Basically, do you remember Gwen Cooper? She's one of Ianto's mates- the guy Jack made friends with? Well, she managed to accidentally get through the rift to the parallel world…" Rose spoke steadily for the next five minutes or so, telling the silently listening Doctor everything that had happened six months earlier. All the time, one of their hands was entwined, firmly holding onto one another. Once she had finished, she cleared her throat and looked up at him, blinking in the rain. He looked stunned, delighted and curious all at the same time.

"Rose Tyler," he said hoarsely, "You really are something else."

She grinned. "I had to take the chance, even if it didn't work." Her smile slipped. "I missed you so much."

The Doctor nodded, hugging her tightly. "I missed you too," he said quietly, "But let's not dwell on that." He caressed her cheek lovingly.

She smiled weakly, her eyes filling with tears. "I can't believe you're here, Doctor," she whispered,

"Hey now," he said gently, "No tears, baby." He paused as he felt her tense in his arms. "Rose, what is it, love?"

She pulled back. "I need to tell you something. Something important."

The Doctor nodded, his dark eyes focusing on her worried ones. "OK, go on."

Rose shook her head. "Not here. We need to be at the Hub- that's the Torchwood base,"

"Alright," the Doctor accepted, "Shall we go there now? The TARDIS is just around the corner,"

"Where?" Rose asked urgently.

The Doctor pointed and she sprinted away, turning the corner and her pace picking up as she saw the familiar blue box, softly glowing in the rain. She literally crashed into it, her arms wrapping around it as best as she could and new tears appearing in her eyes. The Doctor laid a hand on her shoulder comfortingly and she moved away as he unlocked the wooden door. Rose walked in, sliding her hand over the rail and then over the wall and giving a small smile as the lights flickered in welcome.

"I'm home," she whispered, "I'm finally home,"

"It's not been the same without you or Jack," the Doctor remarked, "Too quiet,"

"How long has it been for you?" Rose asked him, wrapping her arms around his waist again, "'Cause it's been three and a half years for me, and five and a half for Jack."

The Doctor shrugged. "I don't know really. I lost track of the time, especially just after…" He broke off awkwardly, looking down into her eyes. "It's been quite a while though."

"It's been too long," Rose said angrily, "If only I'd held on to that lever for longer. I'm sorry, Doctor,"

"You've got nothing to be sorry for," he answered immediately, "You saved this world from the Daleks. Again."

Rose smiled reluctantly. "Alright," she conceded.

The Doctor grinned and kissed the tip of her nose.

"Hey, you missed," Rose told him innocently, pouting.

His smile got wider as he leant in and kissed her lips gently, relishing in the familiar softness of them. Rose kissed back lovingly, deepening it.

"I love you," she whispered against his lips.

The Doctor's hearts leapt for joy. "Love you too," he murmured, before kissing her again.

They eventually broke apart, both with swollen, red lips. Rose rested her head against his collar bone. "Back to the Hub then?"

He nodded and, taking her hand, led her to the console. "Where are we going?"

"Cardiff Bay," Rose replied, with a grin.

He grinned back and fired up the engines.

* * *

Jack was pacing anxiously in his office in the Hub, waiting for Rose and the Doctor to arrive. He could hardly believe that he was going to see the Doctor again in a very short space of time. It had been a very long time since he'd seen the Time Lord and although he may not have shown it that much, he had really missed the Doctor.

Getting fed up of pacing; Jack slid down the fireman's pole into his bedroom and glanced into the adjoining room to check on Jonny. The little boy was napping and had been for a while so Jack knew he'd be waking up soon. Waking up to meet his father… Jack frowned slightly. He really hoped they bonded. He couldn't imagine why they wouldn't. Jonny was definitely the Doctor's son. He had the same hair and facial features except for his eyes. They were most definitely Roses'.

A noise from above caught his attention.

"Jack!" Gwen called, "A blue box has just materialised by the fountain, right over the lift!"

The ex-time agent leapt up and over to her computer terminal and watched as the door to the TARDIS opened and Rose emerged, followed soon after by a very familiar man. Jack couldn't help but grin. The Doctor hadn't changed a bit.

"Is that him?" Gwen wanted to know, "Is that Rose's Doctor?"

"Yeah!" he said happily. "Listen out for Jonny, will you Gwen?" he requested hurriedly before bounding out of the Hub through the circular door, along the corridors and up the lift before pushing open the exterior door.

Gwen smiled as she watched the Doctor laugh at something Rose told him before something seemed to catch both of their attention. Jack appeared on screen, running towards them. The Doctor beamed manically and tightly hugged Jack as he reached them.

"Good to see you, Doctor," Jack panted as the men parted from their manly hug,

"Same with you, Jack," the Doctor smiled, "Although you have got some explaining to do."

Jack looked confused. "What about?"

"After…" He swallowed, glancing at Rose, "After everything that happened in London, I came here to pick you up but you were dead and someone said you had been for quite a while now." He rubbed the back of his neck. "But you're alive… How?"

Jack sighed and shrugged. "I don't know," he answered simply, "I was dead and then I was alive again,"

"Like with the Master?" the Doctor questioned.

Jack nodded, remembering how he'd been killed by 'Mr. Saxon' that day seven years ago for him but had suddenly come back to life with a gasp. "The only difference being that this time I was dead for about six hours. It's not happened again and, no matter how low I've felt at points without you guys around, I haven't cared to test the theory that I can't die."

Rose squeezed his hand and looked up at the Doctor, hoping he'd be able to shed some light on this mystery. However, he looked just as baffled as she and Jack did.

"Well, all I can say is I'm just glad that you _are_ still alive," he said thankfully, "No matter how it happened. I wouldn't worry, Jack. We'll just monitor it. See what happens."

Jack nodded, feeling slightly better. He stilled suddenly as a message came through to him on his earphone.

"_Jack?_" Gwen said, "_Sorry to interrupt but Jonny's woken up and he's calling for Rose but her com is switched off. Oh, and Ianto says he's just made a fresh brew of coffee and to come and get it while it's good_,"

"_OK, Gwen. Be right there,_" he replied. "Rose, Jonny's calling," he told his best female friend, watching sympathetically as her face drained of colour and she began to nibble on her lower lip. He squeezed her hand comfortingly. "Let's go in. We'll have to go in via the main entrance as _someone_ parked on the lift."

He was happy to see Rose raise a smile as the trio walked into the Hub, the journey spent by Jack explaining the nifty little lift that the TARDIS had created all those years ago.

Rose moved a little faster as the sound of her child's cries reached her ears. She hurried through the sliding door and down to the living quarters where she met Gwen who was cradling Jonny in her arms. "Thanks Gwen," she said gratefully, taking her son who quietened down as the sight of his mother.

The Welsh woman smiled reassuringly at her. "Good luck," she said quietly.

Rose smiled weakly, occupied with comforting her child. "Hey," she whispered, as Gwen left the room, "What are all these tears for?"

"Scary dream," Jonny sniffed,

"Aww," Rose said, kissing his dark head, "Never mind. Mummy's here and she'll fight all of the monsters away for you." She inhaled her son's scent before straightening up. "I've got someone for you to meet, Jonny. Someone I hope you'll like very much and who will like you lots too."

Jonny looked curiously up at her and she smiled at him before taking a deep breath. "Right, let's do this." She moved Jonny more comfortably into her arms and walked out the room and up the stairs to Jack's office where she knew the Doctor would be waiting.

"Gwen, Tosh, Ianto, Owen, coffee break!" she heard Jack order, "C'mon guys." She silently thanked him for giving her some privacy to do this.

"Rose?" the Doctor called,

"I… I'm coming," she replied, climbing up the last few stairs and appearing in the office where the Doctor was waiting on his own. She watched his face, seeing his smile at seeing her change to a puzzled frown at the sight of a child in her arms. He took a few steps towards her.

"Who's this?" he asked, tickling Jonny's tummy making him giggle.

Rose smiled slightly, happy as always to hear the sound of her son's laughter. He obviously seemed comfortable. "This is Jonny…" she began nervously,

"Your little brother?" the Doctor asked, studying the tiny boy intently, "He's got your eyes. Must be a family trait." He paused a moment. "Does that mean your mother's here too?"

Rose shook her head. "She's still in the parallel world with Dad… Pete. I told you earlier." She bit her lip. "Doctor, Jonny's got…" She took another deep breath, preparing herself to leap off the edge of the cliff, "He's got _our_ eyes." She closed her own eyes and when she reopened them, the Doctor was staring at her, his brown eyes wide, "Doctor, this is Jonny," she repeated, "He's our son."

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_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received.**_


	15. Son of the Father

**Domestics and Divisions**

_**Here's the next chapter and I hope you enjoy. The next one is half written, thanks to a certain Witch Nova, so hopefully I won't take too long to get that one up too!**_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me.**_

_**

* * *

**_**Part ****Fifteen: Son of the Father**

The Doctor stared at her. "Our son?" he repeated in a whisper.

Rose nodded nervously. "I was a couple of months pregnant when I went to the parallel world," she explained quietly, not sure of his reaction from his face. "I don't know how I got pregnant as we were always careful. I guess we must have just forgotten or something." She shrugged. "All I know is Jonny is your son."

"No, Rose."

She looked up, worried to see his face full of shock and fear. "He's not mine. He can't be."

"But he is," she insisted, her stomach twisting itself into knots, "I haven't slept with anyone else since I met you!"

"You must have done," the Doctor nodded decisively, "He's not my son, Rose."

"Yes, he is!" she retorted, "I'm telling you, I haven't slept with anyone else, Doctor. Only you!"

"Don't lie!" the Doctor shouted, backing out of the room, "He's not my son, Rose, and that's final!" He turned and ran out of the room.

"Doctor!" Rose yelled, hurrying after him but stopping as Jonny, who had been silent all along, began to cry, "Shh, hush sweetheart. Doctor, please!"

Jack appeared, looking worriedly at his best friend, whose desperate and unbelieving sobs were now intermingling with her sons'. "Rose?"

"He won't believe me, Jack," she cried, "I need to go after him. What if he leaves again? Can you take Jonny?"

"I'll go after him," Jack said, determination creeping over his face, "Don't worry, honey. I'll get some sense into him." He gave her a quick hug before running after the Doctor.

"Doctor!" he yelled, once he spotted the Time Lord who was hurrying to the TARDIS, "Stop!"

The Time Lord either didn't hear him or more likely ignored him as he disappeared into the time ship. Jack put on an extra burst of speed and got there just as the blue lights started to flash. "Let me in, girl," he whispered, stroking the door. He'd left his key back in his office, not knowing he was going to need it.

The door opened suddenly and Jack fell face forward onto the metal grating floor of the TARDIS as the ship gave a lurch and slammed her door closed. He gingerly sat up, as he heard the time rotor working away as the TARDIS flew off into time and space. The Doctor was glaring at him from next to the console but Jack was certain he could see elements of thankfulness mixed up with the anger and shock.

"Even my ship's against me," he grumbled.

"Maybe it's because you've just run away from the two most important people in your life," Jack responded hotly. "Good to see you girl, by the way," he added, patting the wall of the TARDIS to which the lights flickered dimly.

"He's not my son, Jack!" the Doctor muttered.

"Oh really?" he answered, more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "'Cause he sure as hell _looks_ like you!"

"Maybe she found someone who looked similar to me in the parallel universe?" the Doctor suggested weakly.

"Are you calling Rose a liar? Jack exclaimed, furious.

"No, but…"

"And for that matter, are you seriously suggesting that she would sleep with another man?" Jack continued as if the Time Lord had not spoken, "For God's sake, Doctor! She's still completely in love with you. One of the first things she asked me when she got back was if there was any sign of you! This entire past six months, I know she's not been completely happy because you weren't here. I know she loves me but I also know if she had to pick one of us, it would be you every time! And you seriously think she'd cheat on you?" He broke off, panting heavily, glaring at the Doctor.

The man in question was staring wide-eyed at him, completely speechless. "I… I'm sorry," he managed at last, "I… I know she wouldn't."

"Well, I'm glad you think so!" Jack snapped, still fired up, "So, are you ready to accept that Jonny's your son?"

"No!" the Doctor cried immediately, "I told you, he isn't!"

Jack sighed in exasperation, resisting the urge to shake his friend. "He looks like you, the timing is right- he's three years old and Rose was in the parallel universe for three years. He's too old to have been conceived after we lost her!"

The Doctor shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck in agitation.

Jack growled. How could he be so dense? He glanced around, fully registering that the TARDIS was in flight. "Where are we?" he asked.

"In the Vortex," was the quiet reply.

"_What_? What about Rose?" Jack yelled, "How could you be so cruel? She's going to be going out of her mind, thinking she's lost you again and taken me with you!"

"I had to get out of there, Jack!" the Doctor argued.

"Go back right now!" he thundered.

"I'll take you home and then go again," the Doctor conceded, "Then at least she'll have you."

"No. No way," Jack said immediately, "You are coming with me for Rose and Jonny's sake."

The Doctor dithered uselessly.

"Doctor!" Jack yelled, "What the hell is wrong with you? This is _Rose_ we're talking about. Rose, the woman who you've loved for years. And I'm willing to bet you've not been near this planet since you lost her because it's hurt you too much!"

Judging from the Doctor's awkward posture, Jack guessed he'd been right. "Please, Doctor," he said, using a softer tone, "I know you still love her; I can see it in your eyes. Go back to Rose and heal those broken hearts. Rose needs you and I suspect you need her too."

The Doctor nodded silently, frowning.

"We can deal with Jonny. We'll take it at your pace but please, just hold her hand. I'm afraid she'll break soon without you,"

The Time Lord sighed. "Alright, Jack," he accepted, "I'll go back to Rose but just… just leave the kid out of it for now."

Jack nodded, happy to go along with this for the time being. He squeezed his friend's shoulder. "Thank you."

The Doctor smiled weakly at him before activating the TARDIS, setting it to return to Cardiff, 2018.

The Doctor took a deep breath as he stepped out of the TARDIS, blinking in the winter sunshine. He shielded his eyes and saw Rose, standing half shadowed at where he knew the main entrance to the base was. He started forward, his hearts constricting as he saw there were tears running down her cheeks. He broke into a jog, not knowing where Jack was but not really caring. He saw Rose start hurrying towards him and increased his speed, not stopping until she crashed into his arms, her head instinctively going under his chin.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed, "I'm so sorry."

The Doctor kissed her temple, cradling her firmly in his arms. "It's OK," he whispered, hoping he was telling the truth, "Everything's going to be fine."

* * *

Jack let the reunited couple use his office to talk in while he and the rest of the Torchwood team kept Jonny occupied. The ex-time agent briefed them on the situation and they discussed it over a cup of Ianto's industrial strength coffee.

"He's not accepting Jonny as his son then?" Owen asked.

Jack shook his head, sighing sadly as he watched Gwen play with his godson, making him giggle.

"That's terrible," she stated, "How could anyone reject this sweet little boy?"

"I don't know," Jack admitted, "Maybe he's afraid."

"Of what?" Owen asked in disbelief.

Jack shook his head again. "We'll just have to hope he sorts himself out soon," he shrugged, "Or beat some sense into him. We can't have Rose upset."

His team nodded in agreement.

* * *

Rose perched on the edge of Jack's desk, twisting her hands. She could see the Doctor's feet where he was standing directly in front of her, leaning against the glass wall of the office.

"You don't want him then?" she asked quietly.

He sighed. "I… I don't know, Rose. He can't be my son."

"He is. I promise you," she whispered.

The Doctor didn't reply.

"Why?" Rose asked softly after a moment.

"Why what?"

"Why don't you want Jonny as your son? Did I do something wrong or…?"

"No!" the Doctor answered immediately, cutting her off, "God no, Rose!"

"Well, why then?"

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't want the responsibility."

"You don't want to be bothered with a kid?" Rose asked acidly.

"No, that's not it at all!" the Doctor responded strongly, "Rose, I've told you this before. My life on the TARDIS is no life for a child. He'd get hurt!"

Rose sniffed, struggling to retain her composure. "So basically what you're saying is Jonny can't travel with us?"

The Doctor nodded slowly.

"Well, then," Rose said, her voice cracking, "I guess that's it then."

"What's what?" he asked cautiously.

Rose looked up at him, her eyes swimming with tears, unable to believe it had come to this. "If Jonny can't come, then I can't either." She brushed her eyes quickly. "And that means that we're over, Doctor. We can't be in a relationship like this anymore."

He stared at her in complete shock. She… she seriously couldn't be suggesting that they part ways?

"Rose, no!" he said desperately, "I'm telling you we can work something out!"

"How?" she cried, "I'm not leaving Jonny alone and you won't let him come with us! And it's not like you'll stay here on Earth to be with me. You get wandering lust, I know you do! You'd be bored solid!"

"I'd at least give it a try!" the Doctor responded, "We could do it like when you were taking your A Levels. I'd go off every couple of months and then come back."

Rose's face brightened with hope before she realised the major flaw. "It still wouldn't work," she said lowly, "Because you're refusing to accept Jonny. It wouldn't be only me you'd have to take care of. There'd be him as well. We'd argue over him and you might get so fed up, you'd go off on one of your trips and decide to never come back!" She paused, tears running down her cheeks, making the Doctor ache to hold her. "It's best it happens this way." She sniffed, standing up shakily. "I want to love you but you're making that incredibly difficult for me. I hate you so much for being like this right now!" She ran out of the office, leaving a stunned Doctor in her wake.

He watched silently as she tore over to Jack and grabbed her son, muttering tearful answers to Jack's concerned questions. He saw as Jack's face turned from worried to shocked and outraged before saying something to which Rose responded by shaking her head desperately and leaving the Hub, her child clutched firmly in her arms.

"Shall I go after her?" Gwen volunteered.

Jack shook his head. "I will," he decided, "You guys stay here and get on with your work. I need your reports on recent Weevil activity. Cheers." He smiled at his team before striding out after his best friend, not noticing or ignoring the lone Doctor staring forlornly down at him.

* * *

_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received.**_


	16. Daddy

**Domestics and Divisions**

_**Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter! Hope you enjoy this one and I hope to get the next one up soon.**_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me.**_

_**

* * *

**_**Part ****Sixteen: Daddy**

It was Jonny who Jack saw first. The child was toddling dangerously close to the metal bars that fenced off the deep water of the Bay. He hurried forwards and scooped up his godson before looking around for the boy's mother.

Rose was sitting huddled on a rock, her head down and her shoulders shaking gently. Jack set Jonny down in a reasonably secure space before enfolding Rose's small body in his arms.

"I'm OK," she protested weakly, struggling to move out of his embrace.

"Really?" he asked disbelief evident in his tone.

She nodded slowly. "I've got to be now, Jack," she whispered.

He kissed her forehead. "That's rubbish. I'll still look after you and Jonny."

She smiled tearfully up at him. "I can't believe it," she whispered, "I want him back but not if he's gonna be like this…"

Jack sighed. "Give him time, honey. I wouldn't give up on the Doctor just yet."

"I hate him!" she cried, "Why can't he just accept Jonny?"

"He might be alien, Rose, but he's still a man," Jack responded, glad when he saw her crack a smile, "We'll make sure he stays here for a while and see what happens, yeah?" He smiled as she nodded. "And no matter what happens, I'll be here for you, I promise."

"Thanks, Jack," she whispered, giving him a hug.

"Hey, no worries," he answered easily, "Are you ready to come back to the Hub now?"

"No," Rose shook her head, "I think I'm gonna take Jonny to see the TARDIS. Want to come?"

"Might join you in a bit," he replied as they walked back across the Bay, "Got some stuff to sort out first."

She nodded. "Fair enough. See you."

"Bye, honey."

Rose smiled and reached up to kiss his cheek before strolling over to the TARDIS, gently leading her son. She stopped in front of it and felt for her key before unlocking and pushing open the door.

"Welcome to the TARDIS, Jonny," she smiled at her son who had followed her curiously inside, "What do you think?"

"It _big_!" the little boy nodded, staring around, "Little outside."

Rose laughed. "I know what you mean, sweetheart. I remember the first time I saw it."

"Mummy, who singing?" Jonny asked suddenly.

Rose frowned. "Nobody is, love." She paused for a moment, her face thoughtful. "It's you, isn't it, TARDIS?"

The lights flickered in confirmation and Rose nodded.

"Jonny, you can hear the ship singing," she explained, "I guess it's because you're half Time Lord. Say hello to the TARDIS."

"Hello TARDIS!" Jonny smiled, copying his mother and patting the wall. He giggled as the lights flickered again.

Rose smiled. "Come on. Let's go and see Mummy's old bedroom." She took his hand and they walked deeper into the ship.

Memories washed over Rose as she opened the familiar door. The big double bed still sat proudly in the centre of the room and various pieces of furniture surrounded it, including the desk where Rose had done her work for her A-Level exams all those years ago. Dropping Jonny's hand, she crossed over to the wardrobe and pulled it open, seeing all her old clothes hung neatly next to the Doctor's suits and shirts. She smiled, running her hand over her clothes. She'd half wondered if he would have gotten rid of them, seeing as they both thought they'd never see one another again. She glanced around and was surprised to see a door had appeared in one wall. She curiously crossed over to it and pulled it open before letting out a sad sigh at the sight of a fully furnished nursery.

"Thanks, TARDIS," she whispered, "But I won't be needing it. I'm not staying."

There was no reply.

Rose shrugged and closed the nursery door again, slightly regretfully. She knew Jonny would have adored the little room if only the Doctor would get over himself and love the little boy as his own.

"Mummy."

She turned at her son's voice to discover him sitting on the bed and pointing at a framed photograph, sitting on the bedside table of what used to be the Doctor's side of the bed.

"That's right," Rose nodded, lying next to her son and contemplating the photograph.

Jonny frowned, staring at the other person in the frame. "An' that… that the man from the Hub!"

"Yep," Rose confirmed, "Well done." She hesitated before adding, "That's your daddy."

Jonny turned to stare at her. "My daddy?"

She nodded silently, watching his face carefully.

It instantly lit up. "My daddy! Where is he, Mummy?"

"Back at the Hub," Rose replied, her heart breaking. She didn't know how she was going to explain to her three year old son that his daddy didn't want him.

Suddenly, she was startled by a voice echoing down the corridor.

"Rose?"

It was the Doctor.

"In here," she called back, deciding she might as well be pleasant to him however long they had left. She watched as he appeared in the doorway, smiling awkwardly at her before his eyes landed on Jonny, who was grinning widely at him.

"Daddy!" he said happily.

"The TARDIS made us a nursery," Rose commented, before the Doctor could say anything. She pointed at the closed door. "Told her we wouldn't need it as we're not wanted."

"Rose…" the Doctor started.

"Will you do me a favour?" she interrupted.

"Yes, of course," he answered immediately, "What?"

"Can you take Jonny and check him over in the sick bay? I did try back in the parallel world but obviously the TARDIS equipment is more advanced and you're more of an expert on having two hearts…"

"What?" the Doctor said in disbelief, his eyes roving over Jonny, who was still smiling happily up at him. "He's got two hearts?"

"Why don't you go and find out. Jonny, go with your Daddy."

"Are you not coming?" the Doctor asked, with a frown.

"No," Rose shrugged, "Got to clear out my clothes if I'm not staying."

"Rose…" the Doctor sighed.

"Just go." Rose turned and rummaged in the wardrobe until she was certain both males had left the room, however reluctantly. Then she stood up and sighed miserably.

What was she going to do now?

* * *

The Doctor looked at the little boy, who stared solemnly back. He raised his eyebrows and exhaled deeply.

"Right, I need you on the bed so… yeah, I guess I'll have to lift you," he nodded, bending down and picking up the boy under his arm pits. He lifted him into the air before trying to put him down on the bed in the med bay. However, this proved to be impossible as the boy clung on tightly.

"Look, kid. You need to let go of me, yeah?" the Doctor said, trying to dislodge Jonny's fingers, "Your Mum wanted me to check you over and I can't do that if you won't let go of me!"

"You my daddy," Jonny smiled.

"No… No I'm not," he sighed, struggling to remove the boy, "Just let go."

"Are!" Jonny insisted, "Mummy said so."

"Well, she lied," he muttered.

"Mummy says lying is naughty."

The Doctor frowned before finally managing to dislodge Jonny and gently placing him on the bed. "OK, I'm going to listen to your heart… uh, Jonny. That's your name, isn't it?"

Jonny nodded and grinned adorably.

The Doctor blinked and pulled out his stethoscope before placing the business end over the left side of the boy's chest. He listened carefully, counting the number of beats before nodding in satisfaction. Then he frowned. There seemed to be some sort of echo… He paled slightly. No. Rose couldn't be right. The boy couldn't have two hearts… He quickly listened to the other side of Jonny's chest.

"You've got two hearts…" he whispered, staring at Jonny.

He nodded. "Mummy says it's 'cause I got lots of love!"

The Doctor nodded distractedly. He couldn't have two hearts. Only his people had two hearts. Humans didn't. But if Jonny had two hearts, did that mean…?

"Doctor?"

He jerked up and saw Rose standing in the doorway.

"I'm going back to the Hub," she told him, her face expressionless, "Can you bring Jonny back when you're done? Thanks." She smiled weakly at him and waved at Jonny before disappearing.

The Doctor turned back to look at Jonny who was reaching up for the stethoscope. "Leave that alone," he said, "Jonny, hold still." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and scanned it over him, making the little boy giggle at the buzzing sound and try to catch it. "Jonny, sit still!" he said impatiently.

"Sorry, Daddy!"

"I'm not…" The Doctor sighed and put the sonic screwdriver back into his pocket. Jonny seemed to be perfectly healthy and normal both inside and out, save for the two hearts. Still, to be on the safe side, he'd better check the kid over with one of the TARDIS' scanners. He hooked it up and ran it gently over Jonny before waiting for a print out to appear. He studied the paper and shook his head. "Nothing wrong with you at all, Jonny," he shrugged. "Let's go back and tell your Mum. And she can answer me a few questions at the same time."

Jonny smiled. "Daddy…"

"Look, stop calling me that!" the Doctor suddenly snapped, "I'm not your daddy!"

"Mummy said you are!" Jonny said again, "She no lie!"

"Well, she must have done this time, alright?" he said in annoyance. He didn't know why he was irritated at the little boy. Probably because the discovery that he had two hearts had shaken him more than he cared to admit.

"No! You my Daddy!"

"Jonny, stop it!" the Doctor yelled, "I am not your daddy!"

He stared up at him before his bottom lip started trembling and he began to cry.

The Doctor was horrified by what he'd done. "Oh no. Don't cry, Jonny. I'm sorry," he said hurriedly. Even thought he couldn't be his, the kid was still almost a baby and he had never shouted at a child before.

"I want my Mummy!" Jonny sobbed.

"Well, OK. Let's go and find her. Just don't cry. It's alright. I didn't mean to shout at you." The Doctor felt a nudge in his head from the TARDIS, telling him to cuddle the child. He sighed and picked him up, bringing him close to his chest and patting his back. "I'm sorry, Jonny. Let's go back to the Hub and find Rose." He began walking hurriedly through the TARDIS, trying to comfort the upset child and feeling the TARDIS' stark disapproval at what he had done.

"I'm sorry, alright?" he muttered to her, "It's been years since I've had to deal with a child on my own!"

The lights flashed.

"I know it's no excuse! But he's got two hearts, girl. Two hearts! Why?"

The TARDIS didn't reply, obviously deciding that the answer was so blindingly obvious that she didn't need to point it out to the Doctor.

He sighed. "He's not mine," he muttered, "He's not."

He stepped outside, back into the late Cardiff afternoon. The brief sunshine there had been earlier after the afternoon's rainstorm was dying away to be replaced by dark threatening clouds as the evening drew in.

"Looks like it might rain again soon," the Doctor told Jonny.

He squirmed in his arms. "Down, p'ease."

"Well, OK," the Doctor nodded, gently lowering the boy to the floor, "But stay close."

Jonny reached up and slid his small hand into the Doctors'. The Time Lord froze for a moment before shrugging and holding his hand. It was the least he could do after upsetting the boy earlier.

"Come on, let's go." They started slowly walking over the Bay to the entrance of the Hub. The Doctor was anxious to get inside soon, especially as the heavens opened and it began to rain again.

Suddenly, he became aware of something large behind him that grunted. The last thing he remembered was feeling pain at the back of his head and the sound of Jonny screaming before darkness overtook him.

* * *

_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received.**_


	17. Bonding

**Domestics and Divisions**

_**OK, bad news first. I'm off to America for two weeks so there won't be any updates for that time. But on the other hand, I will have ample writing time and fully expect to get this fic completed by the time I get back. Finally, I know! Hope you enjoy this chapter, anyway, and I'll update as soon as I can when I return. Jet lag withstanding.**_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me.**_

_**

* * *

**_**Part ****Seventeen: Bonding**

"Tosh!" Rose called across the Hub, "Can you see if the Doctor's on his way back yet please?"

"Will do, Rose," the Asian woman replied, pressing buttons on her computer and bringing up the CCTV of the Bay outside. The blue box that was apparently the Doctor's spaceship stood in the middle. Tosh couldn't imagine how the Doctor managed to live in there. How did he see out? "Nope, nothing yet," she called back to Rose, "Oh, hang on. The door's just opening… Yeah, he's coming with Jonny…" She watched as her friend's lover put down her son and begin walking towards the base. "Oh my God," she gasped suddenly, "Rose, come quick!"

Rose heard the slightly fearful cries and hurried over to her. "Tosh, what is it… oh God! Doctor! Look out! DOCTOR!" Horrified, she, Tosh and Jack, who had come over to see what the commotion was about, watched as a pair of Weevils ambled up behind the blissfully unaware Doctor and thumped him on the back of the head. He fell like a stone to the ground from which one Weevil dragged him off whilst the other picked up Jonny who was quite obviously screaming in terror.

"Jonny!" Rose screamed, running for the exit, Jack hot on her heels, "Damn him! Why'd he have to park over the lift?" She increased her pace; cursing the Doctor for not moving the TARDIS so she could go the quick way. She was out on the Bay in under a minute, gasping painfully as a result of how fast she had run, and staring around wildly. "Where are they?" she gasped to Jack. The Bay was completely deserted. Not even a day tripper was in sight. "Jack, where are they?" she cried, grabbing hold of her best friend desperately, "We have to find them!"

"We will. Rose, listen to me, we will," Jack said calmly.

"But they're gone! He was hit over the head and Jonny was screaming and I need them both back, Jack! Help me get them back!" Rose cried.

"I will," Jack said, wrapping his arms around his distraught friend, "Rose, it'll be OK. Don't forget Jonny is with the Doctor and he's had plenty of practice at this."

She nodded, calming slightly, knowing her friend was right.

"Let's go back into the Hub and watch the CCTV visuals and see if they show us anything, OK?" Jack suggested, leading her away.

Rose nodded tearfully, casting a last look around the empty Bay. Where was her baby and her soul mate?

* * *

The Doctor drifted back into consciousness with the feeling of two small hands shaking him.

"Daddy?" a small frightened voice whispered, "Daddy, wake up!"

He opened his eyes slowly and saw Jonny looking at him, obviously afraid. "It's OK, Jonny," he reassured him, before slowly sitting up and looking around to make sure everything really was OK.

The smell was the first thing that hit him once all his senses had restarted. He took in a deep breath and gagged. It smelt… _disgusting_. He looked around and immediately found the source of the smell.

"We're in the… _sewers_?" he moaned. He stood up quickly from where he had been lying in a little alcove next to the deep gully that ran down the dark tunnel and in which the Doctor could see unmentionable things floating along. What kind of person put people in the sewers?

"Daddy?" Jonny whispered, his small hand slipping into the Doctor's larger one, "It's smelly here."

"Tell me about it," the Doctor gagged, "It smells worse that how the bathroom used to smell after Jack had used it and that's saying something!"

"Where's Mummy?"

"She'll probably still be at the Hub," the Doctor nodded, crouching down next to Jonny as he remembered what had happened up on the Bay, "Are you OK? Did they hurt you?""

"My head hurts," the boy whimpered, "The nasty monsters hit me!"

"Alright, hold still." The Doctor ran his sonic screwdriver over Jonny's head, checking for any damage. "It's OK. You'll probably have a nasty lump on it for a couple of days but there's no serious damage."

"Will you kiss it better?" Jonny asked innocently, "Mummy always does."

The Doctor paused. "Uh… OK. I suppose so," he nodded before pressing a gentle kiss to the injured area.

"Thank you, Daddy."

"It's alright. Now, come on. Let's get out of this stink hole before I'm sick." Even holding his breath didn't seem to help.

"It's dark and scary," Jonny announced, his voice timid.

"Ah, I can fix that." The Doctor fiddled around with his screwdriver for a moment before a clear light shone out of the end, illuminating the immediate area around them. He heard Jonny take a deep relieved breath and let it out slowly. "Let's go. We need to find one of those grates that open up in the pavements and then we can get out onto the street and find our way back. Hold onto my hand tightly, Jonny and be careful. It's very slippery."

"Yes Daddy," the small boy nodded and increased his grip on his father's hand.

The Doctor smiled slightly.

They set off, along the dark murky tunnel, the sonic screwdriver held high so they could see their way and search for the grate in the ceiling, which would spell their way out.

As soon as he was sure of their way and footing, the Doctor began to recollect what had happened when they had been kidnapped. He couldn't remember much; whoever had taken them had crept up behind the Doctor and hit him on the back of his head and down he'd gone like a Sontaran. He hadn't seen a thing and only remembered hearing some sort of grunting before darkness had claimed him.

"Jonny," he said quietly, suddenly recalling that the little boy had mentioned 'nasty monsters', "Did you see what got us and brought us here?"

"Yeah!" the boy nodded enthusiastically, "It was big an' nasty an' smelly an' ugly!"

The Doctor sighed internally. That hadn't really helped but Jonny's language skills hadn't developed enough yet to properly describe something in helpful detail. However, he was then suddenly struck by a thought. He stopped and crouched down to Jonny's height before placing his fingers on the child's temples. "Can you picture the monster in your head?" he asked gently, closing his eyes and easing his mind into Jonny's. "Don't worry if you feel something weird. It's just me."

There was just a jumbled mess to begin with. The Doctor caught snatches of memories from Jonny's short life- a lot of Rose talking and singing to him but also several of Jackie and Pete cooing over their grandchild. After a moment, the memories cleared away to be replaced by much more recent ones; ones from the past day or so. The Doctor waited patiently before the memory he was looking for came to the forefront and froze on the image of what had kidnapped them.

It was amongst one of the ugliest creatures the Doctor had ever had the misfortune to encounter during his long life. It had a bald head with a scrunched up, evil face. Its mouth was large and sharp teeth were very prominent. All in all, the Doctor was very much of the opinion that this was not a friendly creature and actually reminded him of Warner Bros. version of Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter movies that Rose had forced him to watch once upon a time.

Suddenly, a sharp but not unpleasant shock ran through his mind making him jump. He could feel a presence in his own mind; warm and comforting and making him feel safe.

'_Hello Daddy!_'

The Doctor frowned, wondering why Jonny needed to stay hello to him when they had been together for a while now. Then he realised. The little boy was speaking to him in his mind. He was frozen in shock for a moment. _Nobody_ could do that or they hadn't for a very long time.

"_Daddy?_'" Jonny's uncertain voice echoed in his mind and the Doctor pulled himself together.

"_Hello mate. Are you OK?_"

"_Yes. Daddy, this is weird. I can't talk to Mummy like this_."

"_That's because Mummy is different to us. I don't really know how to explain it to you so you'd understand, Jonny."_

_"Is it 'cause I'm… diff… diff-runt?"_

The Doctor had to smile. Jonny's vocabulary seemed to be increasing the more time he spent with him. "_Sort of_,' he spoke in his mind, "_I'll try and explain it a bit more later, OK?_"

"_Yes, Daddy_."

"_Good boy, Jonny_."

The Doctor carefully withdrew from Jonny's mind and just looked at him for a moment. What was this boy? He had two hearts and could access his mind and talk to him through it. Only Time Lords could do that. He took a deep breath, getting his thoughts in order. Could Rose be telling the truth, despite his unconscious wish to disbelieve her? Could Jonny really be his…?

"Daddy!"

His thoughts were interrupted by Jonny screaming, his eyes wide and fearful. The Doctor spun around to be greeted by the alien he'd seen in the boy's memories.

"Quick, run!" he shouted, grabbing Jonny's hand and pulling him along the slimy tunnel. All of his instincts were screaming out for him to protect the child and get him away from the monster to safety. He suddenly realised they were going too slowly, hindered by Jonny's little legs. Without a moment's thought, he slid his hands under Jonny's arms and hoisted him into his arms.

"Hold on tight," he warned him, "Arms around my neck."

The frightened child compiled and the Doctor began to sprint as fast as he could, always making certain his footing was sure. It wasn't only his life and dignity that rested on it. They did not want to fall into the putrid water.

The light from the sonic screwdriver bobbed as he ran, constantly searching for a way out. He could hear the creature chasing them but its heavy bulk was slowing it down, allowing them to get away.

"Escape!" Jonny called out, pointing at the ceiling.

The Doctor looked up and saw a metal ladder attached to the wall, leading up to one of the grates commonly found in the street.

"Good boy!" he praised, hurrying to the ladder and beginning to climb, Jonny clinging tightly around his neck like a monkey. As they got to the top, he gave the grate a solid push but it stuck fast. As a result, he aimed the screwdriver at the grate and activated it, listening to the resulting whine growing higher pitched as he steered it around the edges.

"Jonny, close your eyes," he said, knowing the light- dim as it was in the early winter evening- would hurt their eyes after the darkness of the sewers. He felt rather than saw the boy nod as he blindly pushed the grate aside and attempted to pull himself out of the small hole.

"Here," said a voice and the Doctor felt a hand catch hold of his, pulling him and Jonny out of the sewers and into what they thought would be safety.

* * *

_**But were they right or wrong? Find out next time in Domestics and Divisions'. Anyone think this sounds like a cheesy American sitcom? Hehe. **_

_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received.**_


	18. The Helpful Hand

****

Domestics and Divisions

_**I'm back! And, sorry I didn't get it all done but I'm working on it. This story should be coming to an end within the next few chapters or so. Thanks for the reviews for last chapter and hope you like this one…**_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me.**_

_**

* * *

**_**Part ****Eighteen: The Helpful Hand**

Within the five minutes since the Doctor and Jonny had been taken by the Weevils, the Torchwood team had collectively brought together the CCTV footage from all of the operating cameras from around the Bay. Rose watched worriedly as the image on the computer screen switched from camera to camera as it tracked firstly the Weevils journey from their point of origin and then their journey back along with the Doctor and Jonny. Both places were the same and had the Torchwood team wrinkling their noses in distaste.

"You're joking me. They took them to the _sewers_?" Owen asked.

"Poor Jonny. He must be frightened to death," Gwen murmured.

Rose said nothing, the intense chewing of her bottom lip giving away her feelings. Jack wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed comfortingly.

"So… we go to the point of origin in the sewers and attempt to track them down?" Ianto asked delicately.

Jack nodded. "Gwen, Owen. You two and I will go and sort it out."

This sparked a volley of protesting from Rose and Owen. Jack held his hands out to quiet them and raised his voice.

"Owen, shut it. You're going. I need Ianto and Tosh to stay here and man the computers. Rose, honey. I don't want you to come along. You're too involved."

"So are you! I dare you to say you aren't worried to death too!" she retorted angrily, "Come on Jack. Please."

He hesitated before sighing. "OK. You can come along. But you're staying with me. The Doctor would never forgive me if you got injured."

"Well, we'll see," she shrugged, "Just don't treat me like I'm a delicate flower, Jack. I might be a mother now but I'm still tough. You know I am otherwise you'd never have let me join the team."

Jack couldn't help but smile. "You've got me there. C'mon team, get moving. Five minutes until departure."

* * *

"Thanks," the Doctor said, as the helpful hand heaved both him and Jonny out of the dark hole in the ground. He set the boy down for a moment and brushed them both off before raising his head to thank their rescuer. His mouth dropped.

"_What?_"

The new, slightly short and ginger haired Master smiled at him. "Hello, Doctor. Pleased to see me?"

"How can you be here?" the Doctor demanded, "How did you get here?" The last time the Doctor had seen this newly regenerated Master was when he'd heaved his unconscious body into the Sphere, which had fallen through the Void into the old Torchwood One base in London several years ago.

"With the help of your little girlfriend," the Master smiled.

The Doctor frowned. How had Rose helped the Master? She wouldn't!

"Although why she's still with you is anyone's guess," he continued.

The Doctor growled, his heart clenching painfully as he remembered that he didn't know where he stood with Rose now.

"I hear you've been having problems lately though. Separated for years by a parallel universe," the Master sighed, "So sad."

"It was," the Doctor confirmed, "But we're back together now and that's all that matters. Not that it's any of your business."

"And I see she's borne you a son," the Master said, ignoring him.

The Doctor glanced down at Jonny and felt a flicker of pride inside him that the boy was not cowering in fear but rather staring up at the Master as if he didn't quite know what to make of him. As he watched, Jonny switched his gaze to him and smiled toothily. The Doctor felt himself give in.

"Yes," he nodded, "Yes, she did." He felt Jonny's small hand slip into his and squeezed it. He smiled down at him before looking back up at the Master. "Alright, enough about me. What about you? Tell me how you're here," he demanded.

"Oooh, fierce. I do like that," the Master replied easily, "Well, I shall oblige you just this once, Doctor. It all started many moons ago when I regained consciousness to discover not only did I not look like myself anymore but I was stuck in a windowless sphere, the only exit of which was sealed so tightly I was unable to open it, even with the aid of my trusty Tissue Compression Eliminator. Well, I sat and puzzled what to do for a while and several hours had passed by before I realised that I was not feeling hungry or thirsty, despite the length of time I must have spent unconscious in the Sphere. You can imagine how happy this made me. I assumed something in the Sphere was keeping me in a constant state of equilibrium and therefore it meant I wasn't going to starve to death. This gave me a new lease of life, if you'll pardon the pun, and I suddenly noticed a control panel tucked away in a wall. After a while experimenting, I got it working and this is where my story really begins."

The Master moistened his mouth and took a deep breath before continuing.

"The Sphere detected nothing outside for quite a while, I do not know how long, but this is how I understood I was somehow in the Void. I also strongly suspected you had something to do with my imprisonment, Doctor! Suddenly, one day, activity was detected in the Void. Two holes seemed to be opening up between two versions of the same world- this planet I eventually discovered. I attempted to manoeuvre the Sphere to one of the gradually opening holes to get out but I failed, unable to move the thing. Despite this set back, I continued to monitor the situation, getting more and more readings. Things continued slowly for a while until the readings began to go crazy; more holes seemed to be opening up and things were coming into and through the Void in large amounts. Then suddenly, it stopped. The readings dropped back to lower than they had ever been and calm appeared to have been restored. This continued for a very long time."

The silently listening Doctor nodded, things making sense so far. What the Master had just described had been when the Daleks and Cybermen had invaded and he'd lost Rose. He reasoned the next bit should tell him what he wanted to know. "Go on," he prompted, caressing Jonny's head gently.

The Master cleared his throat, quickly glancing down at the small boy. "If you insist, Doctor. So, time passed, a very long amount of time and I stayed, sitting in the lonely Sphere, watching for signs of activity. It almost drove me insane, Doctor!" He gave a high pitched laugh which suggested that his use of the word 'almost' wasn't quite correct. "Then finally, the readers indicated a very small flash of activity in an otherwise deserted space. I waited patiently and then it happened. A big spike of energy appeared on the monitor. Suddenly, the sphere began to activate and it seemed to _hook_ onto whatever was passing through the Void. Everything began shaking madly and I was moving, faster than you could ever imagine, Doctor! And then, the sphere began to open somehow and I was thrown out, thinking I was about to die. But a miracle happened and I found myself lying on the Cardiff Bay. Oh, the sunshine had never felt so good!"

The Doctor didn't reply but frowned, looking thoughtful. "And you believe Rose pulled you out somehow?"

"I know she did," the rogue Time Lord replied, "I saw her on the Bay, along with another woman. Of course, I recognised your beautiful Rose at once."

The Doctor ignored this last comment. "Bad Wolf," he muttered, "It has to have been Bad Wolf that did this."

"Indeed."

"Well, I can assure you that she didn't mean to do it."

"I am assured," the Master grinned.

The Doctor nodded.

"Daddy?"

He looked down at Jonny, who was tugging at his hand. He bent down. "Yes, mate?"

"I need a wee wee," he whispered.

"Reckon you can hold it for a bit while Daddy deals with the bad man?" he asked, the parent talk tripping off his tongue easily.

Jonny nodded, his eyes brightening.

The Doctor smiled and straightened up. "Right, well unfortunately you're here now. I want to know exactly what you're planning on doing."

"So you can put a stop to it, you mean?" the Master asked, amused.

"If I need to, yes," he confirmed.

"Well," the Master drawled, in the type of voice you knew he was about to reveal his evil plan in, "Watch and see then. Or rather, don't!"

With that, he closed his eyes momentarily and an intense pain screamed its way through the Doctor's head. He fell to his knees with a grunt, dropping Jonny's hand in the process. The next thing he registered was the sound of his son's frightened cries intermingled with his screams for his daddy. The Doctor forced his pounding head up and saw the Master running down the street; Jonny struggling in his arms, his tear streaked face looking desperately back at him with an arm outstretched as he tried to reach for his daddy.

"Leave him alone!" the Doctor roared, fighting through the pain in his head, which was thankfully receding now, "Master, bring him back!"

"_JONNY!_"

The Doctor looked to the side to see a white faced Rose staring after them. It looked like she had just climbed out of the sewers. Jack was close behind, also looking frantic.

"Rose!" The Doctor was next to her in a second, wrapping his arms around her for a quick, comforting hug. "Rose, it'll be OK. I'll get our son back." He cupped her cheeks with his hands. "Do you trust me, angel?" he asked softly.

She nodded, her tear filled brown eyes focusing on his. "Please get him back, Doctor," she sobbed.

"I will," he vowed, "I'll be back soon. Jack, look after her." He nodded at his friend before pressing a searing kiss to Rose's lips. "I love you," he whispered in her ear before turning and chasing after the Master.

* * *

It took Rose a few moments to come to her sense, safe in Jack's arms. She was a mother, for God's sake, and she wasn't about to let her baby be taken away from her like this! She smiled tearfully up at Jack who nodded in understanding and let her go.

"Take care. We'll track you," he murmured.

"I will. Thanks, Jack," she replied before setting off at a run after the Doctor and the Master. She didn't know how or why the Master was here but frankly she didn't really care. All she wanted was her son and her best friend and lover back.

A spark of hope was slowly growing inside her as she pounded the streets of Cardiff. The Doctor had said 'our son'. Did that mean he'd finally accepted Jonny as his son? Was there hope for them as a family after all? Rose really hoped so. She knew she'd be extremely unhappy if she really had to leave the Doctor. She just prayed that everything would work out alright in the end.

* * *

_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received.**_


	19. Teamwork

**Domestics and Divisions**

_**Hey. This is a repost so some of you may have read it before but it's been edited as the last part of this chapter was… bad. Hope it's better this time. Oooh, and yay for Billie! Winston James. How cute!**_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me.**_

_**

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**_**Part ****Nineteen: Teamwork**

Rose jogged along the road she had seen the Doctor and the Master take seconds earlier, constantly searching for where they might have gone.

"Pssst!"

She looked around and spotted the Doctor leaning against a grimy brick wall. Smiling, she hurried over and slipped her hand into his. He squeezed comfortingly.

"Good to see you," he said quietly.

"I couldn't leave you to do this on your own. We're a team," she replied, "Not only that, we're both his parents." She paused, aware she may have assumed too much. "Right?" she asked worriedly.

"Right," the Doctor confirmed, instantly quelling all of Rose's fears.

"We're OK then?" she asked thankfully.

"More than," he nodded, "I'm sorry I behaved like a fool, angel."

"I forgive you. Couldn't not."

He smiled before turning serious. "Right, the Master took Jonny into this building. Not sure why as as far as I can tell, it's just an ordinary block of flats. The sonic screwdriver isn't picking anything up."

"So, we need to go inside and have a look," Rose deduced, "I'll call Jack and get the team over to surround the building as back up."

"OK," the Doctor agreed. As Rose talked into her comm., he scouted out the area. There was only one other exit to the building, which was a fire escape and only around the corner from where they stood now. This meant that the Master was still inside and they would have heard if anyone had opened the alarmed fire door.

"They're on their way," Rose informed him.

He nodded. "I wonder why he came here," he mused out loud, "I mean, a block of flats?" He suddenly had horrible visions of the Master holding innocent residents hostage, as well as Jonny, until the Doctor gave into whatever crazy demands the other Time Lord wanted.

"Maybe he lives here?" Rose suggested, "Do we even know how long he's been back on Earth?"

"He got out of the Void when you did," the Doctor replied. "It's not your fault," he added quickly, seeing the look on her face, "Well, it sort of is but I'd rather have you back _and_ have to deal with the Master than not have you back at all."

Rose nodded, not completely comforted but even more determined to stop the Master in his tracks.

"Anyway, you had a great idea," the Doctor continued, "He might have rented a flat here and bided away the past six months, coming up with whatever insane plan he's got."

"He better not hurt Jonny," Rose said fiercely, "If he's even harmed one hair on his head, I will kill him."

The Doctor looked at her, slightly taken aback at the level of venom coming from Rose. She'd been intense and almost frightening before but never this much. He reasoned it must be her maternal instinct. Someone was threatening her cub and she was furious. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of running feet. Jack and the team had arrived.

"OK, guys. Surround the perimeter. Keep aware and your comm.'s on. This is a mad man who won't hesitate to kill you if he thinks you're in his way."

Gwen, Owen, Tosh and Ianto nodded seriously, Ianto slightly more as he had more of an idea of what the Master was capable of, having been present when the Time Lord had attacked as Mr. Saxon. The team split up, leaving Jack with his best friends. "Doctor, here's a spare comm. so we can keep in touch," he told him.

"Thanks, Jack. Right, are we ready?"

Rose nodded, taking his hand.

"See you later. Good luck," Jack told them before they pushed open the door into the block of flats and stepped inside.

* * *

The final few rays of the fading sun left a bloody trail of light over the inside of the building but the Doctor and Rose still found they had to peer to be able to see.

"Where shall we start?" Rose asked, observing the neat white paintwork on the walls. It was obviously a more upper class block of flats than the Powell Estate had ever been. They even had posh looking lifts and Rose was willing to bet any money that they didn't smell of urine.

The Doctor didn't answer for a minute, too busy looking around like Rose had. "Top floor by the looks of it," he stated at last, "That's where the lift's at now."

Rose looked and, sure enough, the small lit dial above the elevator doors was on the uppermost number. "What if he took the stairs?" she asked, the thought suddenly striking her, "The lift could have been left by someone else returning home."

The Doctor paused for a moment. "Good point. Right, let's split up. One of us takes the stairs and works their way from the bottom and the other takes the lift to the top floor and starts there?"

"OK," Rose agreed, "Shall I do the stairs?"

"If you like," he shrugged.

"I will," she decided, "Keep your comm. on Doctor and let me know as soon as you find anything."

"Will do," he nodded, "You do the same."

She smiled before they each headed their separate ways.

* * *

The Doctor stepped out of the lift and studied the corridor that stretched out to either side of him. It was pretty much the same on both sides with a royal blue carpet covering the floor and pale walls, dotted with identical brown doors- the only difference being the numbers nailed into them. It was very quiet with only everyday household noises reaching the Doctor's ears, such as the blaring of a TV or a tap being run or conversation carrying on behind all the closed doors.

He walked the full length of the corridor a couple of times, searching for clues as to where the Master might be with Jonny. He didn't know whether to start knocking on doors and maybe asking people if they knew where a short, ginger man lived. He was about to knock on door 601 when he thought he heard the faint sound of a whimper coming from somewhere above him.

It was Jonny, he was sure of it. The Doctor glanced around the corridor until he spotted what he was looking for. Just to the side of the lift was a white door that had 'Roof' written on it in bold black letters. The door was slightly a-jar, only increasing the Doctor's certainty that his son was up there with the Master. He fully pulled open the door and took the stairs two at a time, his ears trained on the sound of the cries, which were getting more pronounced the further up he went.

Once at the top, he quietly pushed open the dirty white exterior door and stepped out into the damp, now dark evening.

"Very impressive," drawled a familiar voice.

The Doctor blinked the rain- which had been threatening all evening- out of his eyes and peered through the darkness. The Master was standing on the other side of the concrete covered roof, dangerously close to the sheer drop off the edge. Jonny was struggling in his arms, desperate to get to the Doctor as soon as he had spotted his father.

"Give me my son back," the Doctor said calmly, walking slowly towards his fellow Time Lord.

"Uh…no," the Master decided.

"Just put him down. You're frightening him!" he said angrily.

"Oh, put him down?" the Master mocked, before dangling Jonny off the edge of the building, "What, here?"

"No!" the Doctor shouted, in a panic. Jonny screamed in terror, desperately calling for his father.

"What?" the Master asked innocently, "His auntie's and uncle's from Torchwood will catch him below."

"Just leave him alone!" the Doctor exploded, "He's not done anything. This is between you and me, Master."

The Master grinned and shook his head. "No, it's far too much fun watching you sweat as I mess with your little boy."

"Give him back to me!" he roared.

"No," the Master smiled, his grip loosening on Jonny. "Whoopsy!" he cackled as he pretended to drop him, the insanity the Doctor suspected he'd acquired whilst in the Sphere really showing through.

The Doctor yelled and there came a scream from behind him. Rose had appeared on the rooftop after finishing her search of the lower floors and finding nothing. She charged forward, her face furious.

"You bastard!" she screamed, grabbing hold of Jonny, "Let him go!"

"Rose!" the Doctor cried, as he watched the pair struggle violently too close to the edge of the roof for his liking, "Watch out!"

He lunged forward and caught his arms around her waist as she slipped on the wet surface. At the same time, he secured Jonny with his other hand. "It's OK, Jonny. I've got you," he said calmly. He felt Rose move to safety behind him, keeping her hand on the back of his jacket. In the meantime, he locked eyes with the Master. "Just let him go, Master," he said quietly, "Then we can talk about this."

"I do not want to talk!" the Master spat, "I want to see you suffer as pay back for what you did to me!"

"What I did to you?" the Doctor asked, confused.

"You ruined my plans, made me regenerate into this god-forsaken body- I mean, ginger? Seriously? And on top of that, you forced me to live in a sphere for an age!" the Master roared, "I deserve pay back!"

"When are you going to learn, Master?" the Doctor asked, somewhat sadly, "All of that happened because you were doing evil yet again, so I had to stop you for the sake of this planet."

"One man's evil is another man's future, Doctor," the Master retorted.

"Not in your case," the Doctor replied, "Just stop this, Master. Stop the evil plans and we can live peacefully."

The Master stared at him before laughing. "You have gone domestic, Doctor," he sneered, "And in answer to your question… _never_!" He pulled at Jonny and a struggle between the two Time Lords ensued.

"Stop it!" Rose yelled, frightened, "You're going to fall!" She attempted to move forward, not quite sure what she was going to do but needing to do something. Her heart constricted as Jonny started crying, scared at what was going on around him and how he kept being pushed and pulled from safety to danger and back again. He wanted his mother and cried out her name, seeing Rose trying to get around the Doctor but not being able to.

Jonny's unhappiness made the Doctor angry as well. It was strange how he'd come to love this little boy in such a very short amount of time- it had barely been even an hour since he had fully accepted him as his son but here he was, fighting for his very own child. His anger gave him extra strength and he tore Jonny from the other Time Lord's grip, with a triumphant cry.

Seconds later, however, he gasped in disbelief as the Master tottered on the edge of the roof before slipping on the rain soaked roof.

"No!" he cried, dropping down and grabbing the falling Master's hand with his own, catching him just in time. He might not have liked him all that much but he didn't deserve to die like this. "I've got you," he told him calmly, "Don't let go."

The Master stared up at him, a peculiar emotion in his eyes. He wasn't afraid or even worried. Instead, the Doctor seemed to sense acceptance.

He was just about to hand Jonny over to Rose so he could pull the Master up to safety when his son began squirming in his grip, anxious to get to his mother, of whom he associated with safety.

"No, Jonny. Stay still!" the Doctor commanded urgently, "Rose, help!"

"Jonny, stay still, sweetheart," she said calmly, "Daddy needs you to be careful." She slowly reached over the Doctor's crouched body and scooped her son up in her arms, careful not to knock the Doctor before turning and starting to move further back away from the edge. But almost as soon as she turned her back to the two Time Lords, she heard a yell of shock and dismay. Spinning around in alarm, Rose witnessed the Doctor staring down the side of the building, his hand outstretched; his expression angry, shocked and hurt at what had happened.

"Doctor?" she asked quietly.

"He let go," he whispered, almost bewildered.

Rose returned to his side, leaving Jonny in a safe place away from the edge. Seven stories below, she could see the body of the Master lying awkwardly on the pavement. The Torchwood team were gathered around him, Owen bending down to check his pulse.

"Jack?" Rose asked into her comm., "Is he…?"

"Yeah," Jack replied heavily as Owen shook his head, "Rose, what happened up there? Did he slip?"

"Yeah," she confirmed, "The Doctor caught his hand but he let go…" She trailed off as something occurred to her. "Why isn't he regenerating?"

"He probably didn't want to," the Doctor said, having stood up slowly, "Time Lords can choose whether they want to regenerate sometimes. I think he'd given up."

"But why?" Rose asked, slipping her arms around his damp body comfortingly.

The Doctor smiled sadly at her. "I think because he'd found out how tough it is to be on your own now. I've got you and Jack and now Jonny. He didn't have anyone and refused my hand of friendship…"

She hugged him tightly, seeing the regret in his face.

"Maybe he didn't want to be evil anymore?" she suggested, "But maybe he knew he couldn't change his ways?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Who knows?"

"Mummy?" a small voice asked, "Daddy?"

They looked down and smiled at Jonny who was holding up his arms, his wet hair falling over his face, much like his father's did.

"Hello, mate," the Doctor said, picking him up and putting him between him and Rose, "Are you alright now?"

The little boy nodded, cuddling into his father. "I was frightened," he admitted, sticking his thumb into his mouth.

"Well, you're safe now," the Doctor replied, kissing his forehead. "I'll always protect you, Jonny," he vowed.

The boy nodded and Rose smiled happily before she wrapped her arms around them both.

Around her family.

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_**One more chapter to go. Will be up as soon as uni work and watching all four series of Doctor Who allows it!**_

_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received.**_


	20. Pondering the Future

**Domestics and Divisions**

_**OK. First of all, I've got to admit I'm really disappointed and upset that the last two chapters have barely had any reviews whatsoever. Thanks to **__**the few who did review. If I wrote something wrong, then tell me 'cause right now I'm worried I've made the ultimate faux pas and people now don't like the fic anymore. Anyway, enough of that. This was meant to be the last chapter of the entire A Level series but it was getting too long so this is part one of two. I'm aiming to get the next one up by Christmas lol. Hope you enjoy and, y'know, review…**_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me.**_

_**

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**_**Part Twenty: ****Pondering the Future**

The Doctor woke up suddenly, sensing something was different but the same both at once. He checked his surroundings before realising what the problem was. Rose had gone from the bed next to him.

He found her in the nursery, which was attached onto their bedroom. She was standing next to Jonny's small bed, her head down and her eyes watching her son sleep peacefully. There were long shadows of her body spreading out across the pale blue carpet, created by the dim nightlight plugged into a socket on one of the yellow duck wallpapered walls.

The Doctor quietly entered Jonny's bedroom and carefully placed one hand on Rose's shoulder. Other than the slight relaxation of her shoulder muscles, she gave no sign that she was aware of his existence.

"You should be in bed," he told her, "You're tired."

"Couldn't sleep," she finally replied, "I had to make sure Jonny was OK."

"He's fine," the Doctor replied, stepping next to her and gazing down at his son, "But you won't be if you stay up all night."

"I don't care about me," Rose almost snapped before cringing, "I'm sorry, Doctor, I'm really sorry." She sighed miserably, which he took as a sign to pull her into a loose embrace. She rested her head on his shoulder and slipped her arms around his waist.

"I love you," the Doctor murmured into her ear, "I want what's best for both you and Jonny and you standing here all night worrying about him isn't good. Come back to bed, Rose."

She sighed again and moved her head slightly so her face was tucked into his neck. "What if something happens to him?" she queried, feeling desperate to get some sleep but needing to protect her child, "What if the Master somehow regenerates now and snatches him away again?"

"He won't. The Master's gone," he reassured her, "Nothing can get in the TARDIS without my say-so; you know that." He kissed her forehead lightly. "Now will you come back to bed?"

Rose nodded and moved out of their embrace before kneeling beside the bed and kissing Jonny, who had slept on, unaware of his parent's conversation.

The Doctor ruffled his son's hair without waking him and then put his arm around Rose's shoulders and led her through the side door and into the bedroom. She clambered into bed, shifting over to one side so the Doctor could lie comfortably, his head against the pillows.

After bidding each other a goodnight once again, Rose closed her eyes and smiled slightly at the feeling of being back in the same bed as the Doctor after so long. There was only one thing missing…

"Doctor, will you hold me?" she requested quietly, knowing she couldn't sleep without it now she was back with him.

There was no reply until sudden strong arms wrapped around her petite frame, pulling her against him, and warm breath ghosted over her ear.

"I'll always hold you, Rose, I promise. I'm never letting you go again."

* * *

It wasn't much later when Rose was almost asleep that Jonny's cries reached her ears. She groaned; struggling to open her eyes, let alone get out of bed to tend to him.

"Let me," the Doctor said from beside her.

"Thanks," she replied, tiredly, reaching out under the cover and gripping his hand, squeezing it gratefully. He squeezed back and carefully got out of bed.

"Won't be long, hopefully," he said, his smile in his voice, before going back to his son's bedroom.

Jonny was sitting up in bed, shaking as small pearls of tears dripped down his cheeks.

"What's wrong, little man?" he questioned, gently, sitting down on the bed and letting his son crawl onto his lap and cuddle into him.

"Scary dream," Jonny sniffed, clutching the Doctor's shirt with his small fists.

"Aww, well it's over now," replied the Doctor, stroking the hair so like his.

"Daddy?" Jonny said, tilting his head to look at his father's face, "Where Mummy?"

"Mummy's in bed," he replied.

'Mummy' was in fact watching from behind the door, loving to see father and son bonding. The Doctor seemed such a natural in looking after Jonny.

"Mummy's really tired," the alien in question continued, unaware of her presence, "And because we both love her very much, don't you think we should let her sleep and be really quiet for her?"

Jonny nodded energetically whilst outside the room, Rose put a hand to her mouth, a huge smile stretching across her face.

"Are you going to go back to sleep now?" asked the Doctor.

Jonny yawned through a nod. "Read me?" he asked, sleepily.

"Of course. Which book would you like?"

Jonny pointed to a book on the table next to his bed. It looked well used and the Doctor could imagine his son dragging it around with him and demanding members of the Torchwood gang read it to him.

He stood up with Jonny in his arms and tucked him back into bed before sitting next to him, his back against the pillow, before putting on his glasses and opening the book at page one.

"Once upon a time, there lived a brave knight called Jonny…"

Rose smiled at the sight before returning to her warm bed. Everything seemed to be turning out alright at last.

* * *

The Doctor was woken the next morning by a small body jumping on top of him.

"What!?" he yelled, startled, bolting upwards to be met with the two laughing faces of his lover and son. He stuck out his tongue. "That wasn't very nice!"

Rose grinned. "Get used to it."

The Doctor sighed before a wicked grin crossed his face. "Jonny… as your father you have my full permission to jump on your uncle Jack whenever you want…"

"Doctor!" Rose chided, trying not to laugh at the innocent smiles on both the Doctors' and Jonny's faces.

"Mummy, where is Uncle Jack?" Jonny asked, crawling to sit under the covers between his parents.

"He'll be in the Hub," Rose replied before glancing at the Doctor, "I guess he's gonna have to decide whether he's going to stay here or come with us."

The Doctor nodded, having had similar thoughts. "It's up to him," he voiced, "He's certainly welcome."

"I hope he does come with us," Rose said, a troubled expression on her face, "Things wouldn't be the same an' I'd miss him so much."

"Me too," the Doctor nodded.

"Doctor, Rose, can I come in?" Jack's voice suddenly came from outside the bedroom door.

"Uncle Jack!" Jonny yelled joyfully at the same time as his father said, "Yeah, come on in, Jack."

He entered, smiling. "God, I've missed this place," he commented, patting the wall nearest to him, "Aww, look at you guys! Perfect family. Makes me wish I had a camera!"

"We're only perfect as long as you're in it," Rose said honestly.

Jack smiled. "You're perfect without my help, Rosie."

"But seriously, Jack," Rose continued, not being able to help the smile that spread across her face at his words, "We're going to be leaving in a few days and I want you to be with us."

Jack studied her for a moment before looking at the Doctor. "Am I still invited?"

"Course you are," the Doctor confirmed, "I'd love you to come along but it's completely your decision."

The ex-time agent nodded, frowning slightly. "Can I have a bit of time to think about it?" he requested.

"Sure," the Doctor agreed, "Tell you what. I'm planning on taking Rose and Jonny away to Mark Three for a few days. Unless you really want to come to, you could stay here and think over your decision?"

"Alright," Jack nodded, "I'll do that."

"Fantastic," the Doctor grinned, "Right, time to get up!"

* * *

Rose took a deep breath and stepped out of the TARDIS onto the lush green grass which lay outside the time ship.

The Doctor, Jonny and herself had just landed on Mark Three with the aim of having a couple of days to bond as a family before going travelling once more and no doubt getting into trouble almost immediately. They had left Jack back on Earth but had promised to go back for him once they were finished.

"How many pampering treatments are you going to have then?" the Doctor smiled, coming to stand next to her and draping his arm around her shoulder.

"Hmm, I don't know," she smiled back, "Twenty? All of them numerous times? Will I get you to join me this time?"

"I am not having a manicure, Rose," the Doctor said sternly, although his smile gave him away, "That might be Jack's cup of tea but it isn't mine."

"Aww!" she pouted playfully. "How about you, Jonny?" she called to her son, who was running around on the grass, "Do you want to come with Mummy and have a nice lady made your hands and nails all pretty?"

Jonny looked disgusted, which made Rose and the Doctor double up with laughter.

"He's definitely your son," Rose acknowledged.

The Doctor nodded in agreement, taking her hand and squeezing it. "Let's go and sign up for the treatments," he suggested.

Rose nodded in agreement and they set off.

* * *

A day and a half later, Rose was feeling nicely refreshed and very much pampered. At the moment, she was on her way back from her manicure and was meeting the Doctor and Jonny in a park where they had been playing together. As she walked, she suddenly felt a feeling of recognition wash over her. She'd been here before. This was where all her hopes and dreams had supposedly come crashing down on her after she had admitted to the Doctor that she wanted to start a family with him and he had turned her down almost cruelly. She sighed. She shouldn't dwell on those thoughts anymore. She had a family with him now- whether intentional or not and she was safe in the knowledge that he loved both her and Jonny very much.

"Rose?"

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her lover's voice.

"Coming," she called back, picking up her pace and rounding a tree to find the Doctor looking at her with a rather odd expression on his face. "What's up?"

He quickly smiled. "Hmm? Oh nothing. How was the manicure?"

"Great," she nodded, deciding to dismiss his expression for now. "We'll see how long they last," she joked, admiring her nails.

The Doctor grinned. "Well, right now, they look beautiful," he told her, settling down at the base of the enormous tree and gesturing for her to join him. Jonny was playing on the playground, fairly close to where they were sitting.

"Did he wear you out?" she teased, cuddling into him.

He wrapped an arm around her. "No, I decided to take a rest," he said defensively.

Rose giggled. "You'll get used to it, don't worry."

The Doctor smiled, looking down at her. "Rose? You know I love you, don't you?"

"Well, if I didn't know by now, I don't think I ever will," she sighed, the sunlight on her face making her feel sleepy.

"Yes then?" he checked.

"Yes!" she nodded, "And I love you back."

"Good," he said, in relief.

Rose frowned slightly. He was acting oddly. "Doctor, what's up?"

"Nothing!" he said hurriedly, running a hand through her hair. "Rose?" he asked again after a pause.

"Mmm hmm?"

"You know last time we were here? And you told me you wanted to take our relationship to the next step, and I said no?"

"Yeah?" Rose answered guardedly.

"Well, I was wrong."

Rose sat up and looked at him, slightly confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well," he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, "I said I didn't want children with you for varying reasons… but now we have a son, I couldn't imagine us not having any. And I said I didn't want to marry you because I knew I was going to lose you one day… but then I did lose you and found out that it didn't matter whether you were my girlfriend or wife, it still nearly killed me."

Rose nodded wordlessly, her breathing shallow.

The Doctor noticed and smiled, stroking her cheek tenderly. "Well, the thing is… I love you completely. I feel like my purpose in life is to protect and cherish you and I want to do that so much. I know I won't have you for my forever but… that doesn't matter anymore. I'd rather have loved and lost than never have loved at all." He smiled at her lovingly. "What I'm trying to say, Rose, is will you give me your forever?" He shifted around so he was on one knee in front of her, her hands firmly encased in his. "Rose… Will you marry me?"

Rose fainted.

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**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received.**


	21. Looking Forward

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Domestics and Divisions

_**The last chapter of the whole series is finally here! Sorry it's taken a while but the whole holiday period was very busy for me. Thank you so much for all the reviews for the last chapter- I was overwhelmed by them. I really hope you like this last chapter and thanks for sticking with the story, even though it's taken me so terribly long to finish it!**_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me.**_

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**_**Part Twenty One: Looking Forward**

The first thing Rose Tyler noticed when she came round was the dappled effect of the bright sunshine shining through the tree leaves on her closed eyelids. The next thing she noticed was the sound of the two people she loved most in the world talking.

"Daddy, why is Mummy sleeping?"

Rose felt the Doctor laugh, thus deducing that her head was resting on his lap. He must have gently pulled her there after she had fainted.

"She's just having a rest, Jonny," the Doctor explained, "I think I might have shocked her…"

"Oooh!" her son exclaimed, "What did you do?"

Rose felt a cool hand rest on her forehead before sliding down to tenderly caress her cheek. She smiled, nuzzling into the Doctor's hand.

"I asked her a question that I don't think she was expecting me to ask her," the Doctor replied, his smile evident in his voice. He stroked her cheek again, telling her he was aware she was awake. "I don't know, Jonny. Your mother has stood up to terrible monsters, seen horrible things like werewolves and Jack first thing in the morning; she's not let anyone put her down all with a determination and bravery I've rarely seen in a human and yet a simple question makes her faint like a maiden."

"It was _not_ a simple question," Rose retaliated softly, opening her eyes slowly. The concerned but happy face of the Doctor swam into view, looking down at her lovingly.

"How are you?" he asked.

"I'm… I'm fine," she decided, catching hold of his hand with her own.

The Doctor squeezed it. "Good," he nodded.

"What did you ask her, Daddy?" Jonny asked, coming into Rose's eye line.

The Doctor returned his gaze to Rose who looked directly back at him, her eyes wide and trusting. "I asked her to marry me," he told Jonny, without removing his gaze.

"Like the Prince does in fairytales?" Jonny asked eagerly.

The Doctor grinned and nodded. "Exactly. And I'm now waiting for my princess's answer."

Rose could feel the weight of both of their stares without having to look but she only had eyes for her lover. "We're…" She coughed, her mouth suddenly a little dry. "We're going to have to find a way of telling Mum," she completed.

"I'll figure something out," the Doctor said confidently. He grinned. "Is that a yes then?" he asked hopefully.

Rose smiled back. "Yes, Doctor. That's a yes."

The Doctor grinned ecstatically and bent down to kiss her.

* * *

"Doctor?" Rose asked, from her position with her face leant against the Doctor's chest.

He ran his fingers through her hair lazily. They had just finished making love for the first time since they had been reunited, after they had collectively put their son to bed. "Yeah?" he asked sleepily.

"I've always wondered… how did I get pregnant? I thought we always used contraception. I mean, we did just now…"

The Doctor didn't answer for a while, thinking it over. "I don't know," he answered honestly, "Perhaps it didn't work or maybe we did forget."

Rose sighed. "I thought it was supposed to be difficult to get me pregnant. That's what you said ages ago."

"It is," he confirmed, frowning, "If we ever attempt to give Jonny a little brother or sister, we'd probably have to try quite hard."

Rose's face brightened for a moment. "Does that mean you want another baby?"

"Maybe," he smiled, stroking her cheek, "But let's make sure we can take care of Jonny first."

She nodded. "How are we going to handle him? Stop going on adventures?"

The Doctor laughed. "I'm not sure that's possible, princess. We seem to run into trouble wherever we go, even if we're not trying to. I guess we'll just have to be extra careful now. Make Jonny our priority. If we're in danger, get him to safety first; don't worry about each other until we're sure he's safe."

Rose nodded. "We better not take as many risks anymore." She was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"What for?" the Doctor asked, surprised.

"When we first met, you said you didn't want to be domesticated and I've gone and done that," she said guiltily.

"Oh, Rose. Don't be sorry about that. To be honest, I like my life as it is now, with you and Jonny. Perhaps I didn't want to be domesticated before but now I know what it's like," he told her.

"Are you sure?" she checked quietly.

He nodded, kissing her cheek. "I've had nine hundred years of running about. It's high time I settled down. Plus I'll be able to do it again once Jonny is old enough."

Rose smiled. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"No, thank you," he replied, before cupping her cheek. "My fiancée," he whispered.

Rose blushed, grinning in delight.

The Doctor laughed and kissed her again before leaping off the bed. "I'll be back in a minute. Don't go anywhere."

Rose smiled and watched him go in amusement, leaning back against the comfortable pillows. Suddenly, the lights began flickering and an audible hum appeared. "What is it, girl?" she asked, pausing for a moment. She shook her head. "I don't understand; it is Jonny?"

The lights dimmed in a negative sort of way.

"OK," Rose nodded, "Erm… is there something outside?"

The lights dimmed further before the bedroom door suddenly opened and the Doctor appeared. "Who you talking to?" he asked, blinking as the lights flashed, "Oooh, hello old girl."

"She's trying to tell me something," Rose told him, "Can you translate."

The Doctor nodded and laid his hand against one of the walls before closing his eyes and reaching for his ship. Rose watched him patiently before starting as his eyes flew open suddenly to stare directly into hers. "What is it?" she asked worriedly.

"She did it," he said, his voice wavering between angry and stunned, "She did something with Bad Wolf to make it easy for you to get pregnant, despite protection."

Rose frowned, getting up and slipping her hand into his. "Why would she do that? Did she know...?"

The TARDIS groaned suddenly and the Doctor nodded. "She knew we would be split up soon and knew you would try to kill yourself." His eyes flashed angrily and Rose paled.

"I couldn't stand it anymore," she whispered, "I was a shell. I didn't think I'd ever be able to see you again and I didn't want to live without you. I'm sorry."

He pulled her into a tight embrace, not saying anything, just thanking his lucky stars she hadn't been able to succeed. Discussing this would be for another day. Right now they had other things to talk about and celebrations to be carried out.

"So... so I became pregnant because of the TARDIS," Rose murmured after a moment.

The Doctor nodded, stroking her hair.

"Would she have to do something if we want more children?" she asked.

He was silent for a moment. "No," he answered, "This was just a one- off apparently. But she better not do it again," he said warningly.

"Don't be angry at her, Doctor. She gave me what I wanted after all," Rose said softly, "A baby with you."

The Doctor looked down at her for a moment before smiling and nodding. "Yeah," he agreed, "She did."

* * *

Jack tapped his fingers on the stone wall of the Cardiff Bay, resisting the urge to check his watch. He was waiting for Matt, Kirsty and Lauren to arrive, complete with children. Lauren had given birth to a little boy a few weeks previously, which she had named Harry. Rose had no idea that she was an honorary aunty for the second time. She and the Doctor had been away for almost two months Earth time now, on their trip to Mark Three with Jonny, and Jack had missed them greatly, especially after only getting them back recently. But he had had a decision to make about his future and had had plenty of time to think about it and now his mind was made up.

A car horn beeped suddenly on the road and Jack looked up before grinning and waving. His friends waved back from inside the car before the girls climbed out and rushed over to hug him.

"Hey!" he greeted happily.

"Hi, Jack," Kirsty replied, "Matt will be with us in a minute. He's just going to park the car."

He laughed, nodding. "Hello you little monster," he said to Rosie, bending down to her level.

"I'm not a monster. I'm a princess!" Rosie announced, "Uncle Jack, is Aunty Rose here? I want her to do braids in my hair again!"

"She'll be back soon, sweetie," Jack told her, addressing Kirsty and Lauren as well, "She rang me the other day to say that they would be arriving this evening if the Doctor got the co-ordinates right- and she has some exciting news."

"Oooh!" Lauren said, "Gossip!"

Jack grinned. "Not lost that side of you then?"

"Course not." Lauren looked tired but otherwise happy with life.

Matt joined them at that moment, pushing a pram with a tiny baby inside. Jack hurried over to see. "Oh, wow," he whispered, taking in Harry. "Lauren, he's gorgeous."

She beamed with pride. "I can't wait for Rose to see him," she said, holding her first born.

"When will that be?" Matt asked, holding out his finger for Harry to clutch.

"Tonight," Jack told him, before repeating the finer details he had just told the girls. They then went and dropped their gear off at where the group stayed every time they visited Cardiff. Then, they spent the rest of the day chilling out.

* * *

The distinct whine of the TARDIS came at about seven o'clock that evening, just as the team was about to give up and order in Chinese.

Gwen, who was sitting at her computer terminal, gave the alert as she saw the blue box gradually materialise into view over by the water fountain. Grinning widely, Jack led the Torchwood team, Kirsty, Matt, Lauren, Rosie and Harry out of the Hub and over to the now fully solid TARDIS and they all cheerfully hammered on the door.

It flew open, revealing Rose. The Doctor could just be seen standing at the console behind, with Jonny clinging onto his back like a monkey.

Rose yelled happily, giving all her friends hugs and swinging Rosie around before coming to a dead halt in front of Lauren. Her eyes moved from her friend to the baby she was holding in her arms and then back again.

"Rose... I'd like you to meet Harry," Lauren said, enjoying her friend's surprise.

Rose's mouth dropped open. "Just how long were we away for?"

"Just over two months now," Jack filled her in.

"Oh... Sorry," she said apologetically, "Doctor, you did it again!"

"Did what?" he asked, coming out of the TARDIS. Rosie immediately shrieked in joy as she saw her friend, Jonny.

"It's been two months," Rose told him, smiling as he set Jonny down and the two children started playing a game with no discussion whatsoever.

"Ah!" He said intelligently, "What did we miss this ti..." He trailed off, seeing the bundle in Lauren's arms. "Ah." He repeated.

"He's adorable, Lauren," Rose said, gazing down at Harry, "How old is he now?"

"Three weeks," she replied, "Here." She passed her son over for her friend to hold.

Rose cuddled her best friend's son. "Hello Harry," she whispered, "I'm Aunty Rose."

"So, Jack said you had some news," Lauren said expectantly, after a moment.

Rose looked up and met the Doctor's gaze, with a smile, before handing Harry back. "Yeah, I do," she said, somewhat shyly.

The Doctor grinned, moving to her side and watching their friend's eyes widen slightly as they realised the potential meaning of that particular action.

"Apparently the Doctor had an alternative motive for taking me away," Rose told them, grabbing her fiancés hand, "It was to bond as a family but also because..." She smiled up at him before looking at her friends again. "He asked me to marry him... and I said yes."

Several seagulls took off in fright at the screams suddenly emitted from the group.

* * *

The team threw the Doctor and Rose an impromptu engagement party that evening, with everyone laying down work and enjoying themselves with their friends and visitors. Owen had to be reminded that both Kirsty and Lauren were taken after attempting to chat them both up. He then proceeded to flirt with Gwen, much to everyone's amusement. Everyone except Jack, that is. Rose swore she saw a jealous glint in her best friend's eyes.

Halfway through the party, the Doctor pulled Rose away for some privacy. He covered her hands with his own and when he pulled away, a delicate engagement ring sat on the appropriate finger.

Rose gasped, examining it. "Oh Doctor! It's beautiful." She held it up and saw curved symbols etched around the band, which looked somewhat familiar. "That's Gallifreyan, isn't it?"

The Doctor nodded. "It says 'Eternally Yours'" he told her, "I've had it laying on the TARDIS for years. I didn't think I'd ever find anyone special enough to give it to."

Rose smiled and kissed him lovingly. "Thank you. I love it and I love you."

"I love you too," he said softly, "My Rose."

Gwen appeared at that moment, looking harassed. "Oh, sorry," she muttered, realising she may have interrupted something.

"Trying to hide from Owen?" Rose laughed, provoking a reluctant smile from her friend.

"He's doing my head in," she confessed, "Can't he see I'm not interested in him?"

"Men are blind, trust me," Rose giggled.

"Hey!" protested the Doctor.

Rose gave him a look and he shut up immediately, making her giggle even more. "Hey Gwen, look at this," she then said excitedly, showing off her new engagement ring.

"That's amazing," she breathed, "Lucky you! If Rhys ever proposes, I'll probably get a hula hoop or an onion ring!"

Rose grinned. "Or he'll do his back in, getting down on one knee..."

Gwen smirked. "Probably. Anyway, I was wondering if you're going to be able to tell your family your news?"

Rose looked uncertainly at the Doctor. "I want to tell them face to face," she answered, half to him and half to Gwen, "But if that's not a possibility, can we send a message like you did with me?"

"Probably," the Doctor nodded, before springing into action. "Right then. Where's this contraption that got you here in the first place?"

"Over here," Rose said, taking his hand and leading him and Gwen over to a workstation. They were quickly joined by Jack and Ianto.

"What are you doing?" Jack enquired curiously.

"The Doctor wants to have a look at the... thing," Rose told him, as Gwen got it out of the packing case they'd stored it in.

"Ah... the thing," he grinned, "We really need to come up with a name. Ianto, any ideas?"

The Welshman looked thoughtful as the Doctor examined it.

"What about... the Trans-dimensional Traveller?"

"Perfect!" the Doctor cried. "Right, tell me exactly what happened when you crossed over the Void."

Rose glanced at Gwen before they jointly began to describe their experiences, detailing their feelings and actions. The Doctor fiddled with the newly named Traveller as he listened. Suddenly, he gave a triumphant exclamation.

"Figured it out," he beamed, "Its alien technology from this planet named Verity. It specialises in your heart's desire and... if I'm very lucky..." He got up and ran out of the Hub and into the TARDIS, closely followed by the others.

"Doctor?" Rose asked, a stirring of hope in her heart as she watched him dash around the console.

"If I can connect the Traveller up to the TARDIS, it might enable us to freely cross the Void without any trouble, as long as we want to see your family," he explained rapidly, "Jack, give me a hand."

The ex-time agent hurried over to help whilst Rose watched them in growing excitement. "So, I'll get to see my mum whenever I want to because of the Traveller?"

"Yep!" the Doctor grinned, "See, it should really be called the Trans-dimensional Truth Traveller. As long as your holding onto it and really _really_ want to go somewhere, it'll take you within reason. So, Gwen crossed into the parallel world to find you because she really wanted to make Jack feel happier; you got back here because you wanted to find me and Jack again; you got back to the parallel universe because you really wanted to get Jonny and back again for me again. And we're going to cross over now because we really want to see your mother."

Rose smiled coyly up at him. "Even you?"

"Even me. As long as she doesn't slap me again."

Rose giggled before smiling as he caught her up in a comfortable hug. "Go and get Jonny," he told her, "We're going to see Grandma."

* * *

Ten minutes later, the TARDIS trio were gathered around the console. Jonny was strapped securely onto the seat next to them, under the watchful eye of his parents and godfather. Rose was nervously holding onto the Traveller, which was now connected to the console. She gripped the Doctor's hand with her other one before closing her eyes and thinking of her mother and her home in the parallel universe. The Doctor released the hand break and at once the machine began droning.

The trio exchanged excited and hopeful glances as they held on tightly, rightly anticipating the bone jerking ride that the TARDIS provided as she crossed over the Void and landed safely in the parallel world.

"Are we here?" Rose asked eagerly.

The Doctor checked the screen and nodded. "About six months after you left," he confirmed, "And we're sitting in the gardens of the Tyler Mansion." He laughed as his fiancée gave an excited squeak and ran out of the TARDIS before appearing back in the doorway, a sheepish look on her face.

"Uh... will you...?"

"I'll sort Jonny out," the Doctor grinned, "Go on ahead."

"Thank you!" she beamed before disappearing again.

Jack laughed, the Doctor joining him as he unbuckled his son. "Come on, mate," he said, "Let's catch up with your mum."

"Daddy, we see Gra'ma soon?" Jonny asked, as they left the TARDIS.

"Yes. In a minute," the Doctor replied, hurrying up the path. Up ahead, he could see Rose standing in the doorway.

She smiled at them, pushing the door open. "Mum?" she called, "Dad?"

There came a gasp from the lounge before the door flew open and Jackie Tyler appeared, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"_Rose_!" she cried, rushing to embrace her daughter, "You're back!"

"Yeah," Rose nodded, hugging her back, "I missed you!"

"Gran'ma!" Jonny exclaimed joyfully.

Jackie took him from the Doctor's arms without realising just who it was and squeezed the breath out of her grandson. Then, suddenly, she looked back up at the Doctor and her mouth fell open. "_You_!" she breathed before reaching out suddenly and slapping him.

"Oww!" he cried.

Jonny giggled, from the floor where he'd quickly been placed.

"That was for leaving Rose and breaking her heart!" she shouted, "I don't care whether you had any choice!" Her eyes flashed before she kissed him solidly on the lips.

"Eww!" Jonny cried in disgust.

"And _that_ was for coming back to her," Jackie finished before leaping into his arms. "Oh, I've missed you so much! I'm so glad you're back!"

The Doctor smiled, hugging her back. "I'm sorry, Jackie."

She shrugged and the moment passed.

"Gra'dad!" Jonny yelled happily, seeing Pete appear at the top of the stairs, "Mummy, its Gra'dad!"

"Dad!" Rose grinned, intercepting his hug as he all but ran down the stairs.

"She came back, Pete," Jackie told him, her eyes suspiciously glistening.

"And we've got some news," Rose told her parents.

"Let's go into the lounge and you can tell us the news and the whole story," Pete suggested.

They all agreed and soon everyone was sat down, with a drink in their hand.

Rose snuggled up to the Doctor, smiling lovingly up at him. Jackie smiled at the sight of the obviously loved up couple. "So?" she prompted eagerly, "What's the news?"

Rose giggled and extended her hand out to her mother, proudly displaying her new engagement ring. "We're getting married!"

Jackie screamed in delight. "Congratulations! Oh I'm so happy for you both!"

"Thanks Jackie," the Doctor nodded, "I would have asked your permission first of course but I didn't know if we were going to be able to see you or not."

"Oh, you would have had it anyway!" she beamed, "I can't think of anyone I'd rather my daughter marry. I know I haven't always liked you; in fact I've hated you at certain times, especially when you abandoned her back home. I didn't think I'd ever trust you again but slowly you've rebuilt my trust and I know you'll always look after Rose and make sure she's safe and happy."

The Doctor nodded, speechless. Jackie had never said anything like this before to him and it reassured him no end that he was doing the right thing in marrying Rose. "Thank you," he managed.

Rose laughed and kissed his cheek.

"Have you decided on a date yet?" Pete asked, in interest, "And a location?"

"I've not really thought about it," Rose admitted, "As soon as possibly I guess. As for where... I want you to be there but I want Kirsty, Matt and Lauren to be there too but you're on parallel worlds!"

"We can always take either your family or your friends to the other universe for the day," the Doctor said, "Now the TARDIS can get through the Void without ripping a great big hole in the walls, it shouldn't be a problem."

Rose nodded, thinking.

Meanwhile Jackie and Pete perked up. "You mean you can get to and from the other universe easily now?" Jackie asked hopefully.

The Doctor smiled, nodding. "The object that got Rose home before is a piece of alien technology that I've fixed onto the TARDIS. As long as we have that, there shouldn't be any problems in getting through and neither of the universes should be affected. Obviously, keep an eye out and tell me if there are any problems."

Pete nodded. "Alright, Doctor."

"Doctor, this means you don't have any excuse for not bringing my daughter and grandson to visit regularly," Jackie said sternly.

The Doctor saluted her. "I promise."

The family chatted for a while longer and then over dinner whilst Rose and then the Doctor reminisced what had happened since Rose had last seen her parents. By the end, Jackie was cuddling Jonny closely, looking horrified.

"How are you going to make sure that Jonny isn't put in any trouble in the future?" she asked protectively.

The Doctor glanced at Rose. "We discussed this last night," he told them, "We're not going to deliberately walk into trouble like we have done before and his safety is always going to come before ours. He'll have two, maybe three..." He glanced at Jack briefly, still uncertain of the ex-time agents final decision on his future, "...people to keep an eye on him."

"Yeah," Rose piped up, "I'd rather die than let Jonny come to any trouble but we're not going to stop travelling. I know the Doctor would be bored stiff, staying in one place all the time, and I think so would I now."

Jackie hesitated.

"He'll be fine, Jacks," Pete said suddenly, "You know Rose is a good mother and the Doctor will look after them both."

She finally nodded. "But still bring him back lots."

"We will," Rose promised, idly stirring the remnants of her dessert.

"Right," Jackie said, standing up, "Are you going to be staying the night?"

"Yeah," her daughter nodded.

"I'll keep a room made up for Jack. I assume the Doctor will be sharing your bed, Rose."

Rose blushed slightly at her mother's comment even though she knew that her mother knew full well that she and the Doctor had shared a bed for many years now.

Jackie smirked.

* * *

A while later, Rose and Jack found themselves alone on the swing seat in the garden. The Doctor was inside talking to Pete whilst Jackie was fussing over her grandson.

"Everything's turned out as you wanted, hasn't it?" Jack observed with a smile.

Rose nodded, leaning into her best friend. "I'm so happy now."

"You deserve to be," Jack said softly.

"Thanks," she replied before pausing. "Are you happy, Jack? You've been a little quiet today."

He sighed. "I'm fine, honey. I've just been letting you be the centre of attention today. 'Cause you never are normally," he ended teasingly.

Rose giggled before sobering. "I was wondering... have you made your decision yet? I mean, about coming with us again."

"Do you want me to?"

She nodded immediately. "You're my best friend, Jack, and I love being able to talk to you sometimes."

He smiled. "Same about you."

"I just know you've been in Cardiff for five years now and you've probably settled down and maybe got your eye on someone..." Rose continued.

"I do not!" he objected playfully.

"Oh come off it, Jack. You can't keep your eyes off them sometimes," she smiled, "And I'm glad because I've always felt guilty that you've been on your own when I've had the Doctor so if you wanted to stay in Cardiff to be with them, I'd completely understand. I'd miss you so much but I'd understand."

"Rose, I'm coming with you," Jack stated.

Her jaw dropped. "Really?"

He smiled. "Really. I can visit the team but you, the Doctor and Jonny are my family."

Rose hugged him tightly. "Oh, I'm so glad."

"Hey," he grinned, "You ain't getting rid of me that easily!"

Rose laughed, swiftly joined by Jack.

"Hey, what's all this racket?" asked a familiar voice. The Doctor came into view, carrying Jonny. "It's nearly time for his bedtime," he explained, taking a seat on the other side of Rose.

She took her son and cuddled him. "Jack's coming with us," she told her fiancé happily.

He grinned. "Fantastic. Be good to have you, Jack."

"Thanks," he smiled, "I can be your onboard babysitter!"

"Hey, you know you mean more to us than that, Captain!" the Doctor mock scolded.

"I know," Jack laughed.

"So, where are we going first?" Rose asked, tilting her head up to look at the night sky.

"Well, back to the other universe to say goodbye to Gwen, Ianto, Owen, Tosh, Matt, Lauren, Kirsty, Rosie and Harry," Jack reeled off.

"We've got so many friends now," the Doctor smiled.

"Yeah," Jack agreed, "And many more around the universe. And in other universes."

Rose nodded. "And after saying goodbye?" she prompted.

"We'll organise the wedding," the Doctor said happily, "Decide where and when we want to hold it, then we'll get whoever are in the universe where we won't be holding it and take them to the wedding."

"And then we'll get married," Rose whispered.

"And then we'll get married," the Doctor agreed, kissing her forehead.

"And then I take Jonny off somewhere whilst you two go on honeymoon?" Jack guessed laughingly.

"Yep!" the Doctor agreed, with a wink.

The trio laughed comfortably.

"And then what?" Rose asked.

"We do what we're good at," the Doctor said, "Explore the universe..."

"Save civilisations..." Rose grinned.

"And have a fantastic time doing it," Jack completed.

Rose looked down to see Jonny had fallen asleep in her arms. She smiled and cuddled him. "And most importantly of all, we bring Jonny up right."

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, stroking his son's head lovingly, "And won't it be great?"

The End

* * *

_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received.**_


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